Legal Studies

This course explores business finance law. Topics include: corporate finance law-- current outlook for financial markets; internal company financing; external company financing; financing small and medium enterprises (SMEs); financing technology-based companies and spin-offs; financing social enterprises.

The course introduces students to the role of property concepts in legal and social thought. Particular attention is paid to the context, development, and function of property forms in contemporary legal systems. The course encompasses a broad range of established and emergent property forms, ranging from questions of copyright and share ownership to aspects of real property. Extensive use is made of historical and other general commentaries on the question of property.

Using mainly law, sociology, and economics but also philosophy, literature, and psychology; and focusing on different actors such as states, societies, consumers, and banks; the course deals with current controversial issues such as the rising role of money, the global distribution of wealth, the erosion of monetary sovereignty, the legal challenges of alternative and stateless currencies, and the disruptive effects of cryptocurrencies on finance and banking industries. The course is divided into three parts: the origins and essence of money, the socio-economic and legal issues raised by money in today's society, and the current challenges coming from the rise of cryptocurrencies.

This course provides an introduction to French law and the judicial system. Students learn about the judicial organization, fundamental rights, the differences between a natural and a legal person, as well as the rules to carry out a contract. Topics like criminal, civil, and administrative liability are also taught.

This course provides an analysis of the relationship between the regionalization of criminal policy and the globalization of criminal law. It introduces the concept of and analyzes the types of criminal policy. The course provides a comparison of national, regional, and international criminal policy; and compares a variety of methods of regionalization of criminal policy towards drug crimes. It identifies and analyzes the challenges and explores the efficiency of joint regional criminal policy. 

This course examines individual labor law or employment law, with a focus on the employment contract. Topics include: concept, function, origin, and history of labor law; sources of labor law and the employment relationship, and principles of application; the labor administration system and labor courts; the employment relationship between employee and business owner; the job market, employment policy, and the employment contract; defining the job to be performed; quantity and features of employment benefits. 

The course is intended covers issues from a number of different perspectives, specifically considering cultural, political, legal, but also economical aspects, including those relevant outside a Western context. It provides an overview of the legal situation in a national, European, and international setting. Participants gain an understanding of the various forms of intellectual property (copyright, patent, trademark, etc.) and expanding or antagonistic concepts including the creative commons, open access, open source, and piracy.