China Summer Program in Beijing

Course Descriptions

Students will earn a total of (1-3) units in International and Comparative Law.

Comparative Constitutional Law: China, the U.S., and Beyond - 1 unit
(Professor Jason Mazzone, Brooklyn Law School)

This course focuses on the comparative study of the structure and content of constitutional law. Given our location, a significant portion of the course will be devoted to studying the constitutional systems of China and other Asian nations and to comparing those systems to constitutional democracy in the United States. We will also examine western European civil law countries such as Germany, Italy and France; other common law countries such as Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, India and South Africa; and mixed systems such as Israel. Topics will include such things as variations in the institutions and practices of judicial review; negative and positive constitutional rights; gaps between rights on paper and those that exist in practice; freedom of speech, privacy and equality; constitutional restrictions on private actors; federalism; and different approaches to national security. The course will consider issues involved in designing constitutional systems for new democracies, the possibility of exporting constitutional structures, and the usefulness of comparative approaches for American courts. No prior coursework or other background in constitutional law is required.

International Business Transactions - 2 units
(Professor Robin Effron, Brooklyn Law School)

This course analyzes selected legal issues regarding doing business abroad. After an introduction to the basic structure of a cross-border transaction, the course will focus on the formation of international sales contracts and remedies for breach, foreign corrupt practices, international dispute resolution, and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards in U.S. courts. Special attention will be paid to conducting business in China and in other Asian markets. There are no prerequisites for this course.