JUR406 Comparative Contract Law

All cross-border legal interaction necessitates a comparative analysis of legal systems. As law is an inherently national undertaking, and language its main communication device, problems arise when jurists need to analyse legal systems not their own, or to communicate the content of their own legal system to lawyers from other jurisdictions. The lack of a common legal structure makes translation notoriously difficult.To prevent misunderstandings and facilitate efficient and accurate communication between lawyers and jurists from different legal systems, it is paramount to be aware of these challenges. This course aims to provide students with the methodological tools to navigate this complex and often misleading terrain.

Building on the knowledge of legal cultures and comparative legal method which the students have gained during their bachelor education, the course provides insight into the contract law of other European countries and challenges the students to reflect upon both the familiar solutions of Norwegian law as well as the possible reasons for similarities and differences between countries. Contract law is essential to cross-boarder transactions. It has been the object of several harmonisation efforts, and extensive legal research has been conducted in this field. This means that there are ample source materials available to the students, providing them with insights beyond the mandatory reading materials as well as the possibility to conduct their own research within the framework of the course.

Having learned to familiarise themselves with foreign legal systems, thestudents will be better qualified to act as consultants to private and public actors who for a variety of reasons need to know another country’s law. The selection of legal systems and the hands-on experience of dealing with sources of foreign law will provide the students with a good basis so that they may independently gain insight into complex structures as well as detailed regulations within the foreign law. This enables them to conduct independent comparative analyses of the law also in other fields.

The course contributes towards the realisation of the UN’s sustainability goals no. 10 (reduce inequalities, esp. 10.2 and 10.3), no. 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and no. 17 (partnership for the goals).