Course Information

Curriculum

The program is designed to prepare students for practicing law in the globalized atmosphere of the 21st century by broadening their understanding of International and Civil Law. Four 3-credit courses will be offered; each student must enroll in two of the four courses offered.*

All courses comply with the standards of the American Bar Association, and the program has been approved by the Accreditation Committee of the ABA Section on Legal Education.

Although generally credits earned in an A.B.A. accredited program are completely transferable to your home school, it is unlikely that participation in a study abroad program for only one summer may accelerate graduation. Students are encouraged to check with their home schools and review the A.B.A. Standards for Approval of Law Schools, Rule 304 and Interpretation 304-4, if they desire to accelerate graduation.

*Students must choose one 9:00 a.m. course and one 11:00 a.m. course. The program will be limited to 140 students. Required casebooks and text materials must be purchased by the students at their expense prior to departure for Spain.

*Due to the accelerated pace of the curriculum program, weekday afternoons should be devoted to study. Weekend trips are optional for students.

Courses – Summer 2024

Internet Governance Law and Policy
Monday – Friday – 9:00am – 10:50pm
Professor Gregory Dickinson

LAW 811A

Internet Law and Policy focuses on fundamental questions about how, if at all, existing legal rules should apply to new technologies. The course explores various legal and policy problems that arise in internet law, including issues of sovereignty and jurisdiction; legal and technological regulation of on-line speech; issues of privacy, anonymity and accountability; and online misconduct.

Course Materials
  • Syllabus – Internet Governance Law and Policy [TBD]
Human Trafficking Law and Policy
Monday – Friday – 9:00am – 10:50am
Professor Poza Pati

LAW 752

This course analyzes human trafficking as a transnational organized crime, as a crime under U.S. federal law, and under Florida law. It explores the doctrinal issues related to human trafficking and slavery, the smuggling of people, involuntary servitude, as well as the case law related to each issue. It focuses on the main forms of human trafficking: forced labor, domestic servitude, and commercial sexual exploitation. It looks at the intersection of human trafficking law with other areas of law such as immigration law and foreign sovereign immunities act, and it examines questions related to jurisdiction. On a more practical level, it teaches tools of prosecuting successfully a trafficking case and brings in the perspectives of prosecutors, victim’s attorneys, law enforcement and service providers. Finally, it assesses human trafficking as an egregious violation of human rights and evaluates international cooperation in criminal matters as well as the challenges of prosecuting transnationally.

Course Materials
  • Syllabus – Human Trafficking Law and Policy [TBD]
International Human Rights and Religion
Monday – Friday – 11:00am – 12:50pm
Professor Gordon Butler

LAW 966B

This course will explore the protections afforded by international human rights instruments modeled on and derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the practice of the major world religions. Students will explore the major tenets, practices, and beliefs of the worlds’ religions and the conflicts that arise when such tenets, practices, and beliefs interact with the civil authorities and with other religions. Case studies will explore the response of various religious traditions to the human rights standards and demonstrate ways such standards have protected vital interests such as liberty of conscience, religious pluralism and equality, free exercise of religion, nondiscrimination on religious grounds, and autonomy for religious groups. The course will seek to understand the importance of an appropriate balance for the interaction between law and religion in a thriving twenty-first century global society.

Course Materials
  • Syllabus – International Human Rights and Religion [TBD]
The First Amendment in International and Comparative Perspective
Monday – Friday – 11:00am – 12:50pm
Professor Siegfried Wiessner

LAW 828A

Freedom of speech and of religion under the First Amendment is a hallmark of American democracy. This class will cover essentials of the jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court and compare it with pertinent jurisprudence from foreign domestic law as well as Articles 18, 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Course Materials
  • Syllabus – The First Amendment in International and Comparative Perspective [TBD]