Legal Studies

This course presents the history and the main characteristics of the Japanese legal system. The first part of the course presents the historical background of the Japanese legal system, focusing on the reception of Western law in the Meiji period, and on the consolidation of the legal system in the 20th century. The second part of the course presents several key aspects of current Japanese constitutional law, private law, criminal law and procedure. 

The course considers the nature of deviance, crime, and criminality in South Africa, from both historical and current viewpoints. The following questions are reviewed: How much crime is there in South Africa? Who are the victims of crime and who are the offenders? Why is crime in South Africa so violent? These discussions draw freely from international, criminological debate, and locate those debates within a developing context. The course explores responses to crime in the South African context by considering what has and is being done by the state and non-state to engage with crime? What is the thinking behind (violent) crime control and prevention programmes and initiatives? How effective have these initiatives been? These discussions focus on crime policies that have been developed as well as community and private sector initiatives to address issues of crime and violence. DP requirements: Completion of all written tests, essays and assignments. Assessment: Coursework counts 50% and one two-hour examination counts 50% of the final mark. Course entry requirements: SOC1001F, SOC1005S, or any 1000-level social science course.

This course surveys US law governing mergers and acquisitions and analyzes the agreements lawyers use to initiate and complete these transactions. The course covers structures commonly used in M&A transactions; the duties of management and directors; the rights of shareholders; and the structure and important terms of acquisition agreements.   

This course explores the principles of civil, commercial, and labor law pertaining to economics. It discusses legal entities, the framework of the entrepreneur (including labor-management relations), free competition, copyright/intellectual property and patent/industrial rights, and consumer protection law or company insolvency.

This course looks into important roles that the judicial branch in the U.S. and its judges have played in the evolution of the U.S. Constitution. The course first examines theoretical considerations behind the role of the judiciary. Then it looks at how the U.S courts have performed this role, organized around three major themes: 1) the extent to which the ideology of the judges affect their decision-making; 2) the effectiveness of the courts in bringing about social change, and 3) the tensions between the judiciary and the other political branches. This course examines the aforementioned topics through cases that have divided U.S. society and politics-- such as abortion rights, same-sex marriage, gun regulation, racial and gender equality, and the President's power over immigration.
 

This course introduces students to the complex area of youth crime, the contemporary forces that shape youth justice policy, and the ways in which the criminal justice system has responded to it.

This course covers the general principles of private international law, conflict of laws and private cases with international elements. The main contents are in civil and commercial matters, including those concerning procedural aspects, based on the Thai legal system.  

Prerequisite: Public International Law

This course provides an overview of the venture capital market and exposes one to the agreements used to document venture capital transactions. It also covers the legal and financial implications of the terms within a venture capital transaction document.  

This is a unique culture cluster course which focuses on advancing students’ framework for investigating fundamental questions in culture, language, and law. The course is divided into three sections. The first two sections are devoted to learning various cultural theories in relation to private and public law. The remaining weeks focus on issue analysis. 

This course examines the main methods of alternative dispute resolution practiced within the Commonwealth Caribbean, by examining the theoretical constructs, the legislative framework, and the proposals for reform.