Loyola University New Orleans College of Law’s emphasis on comparative and international law has generated curricular innovation and numerous programs offering students and faculty opportunities to study and develop expertise in this growing field. Loyola currently offers three categories of programs:
In addition to these programs, the College of Law now regularly sponsors:
This burgeoning activity produces many opportunities for the study of international and comparative law, including frequent scholarly events, such as public addresses and faculty colloquia, and many faculty publications in comparative and international law journals.
Loyola’s foreign summer legal studies programs are an important component of Loyola College of Law’s international focus. Loyola currently sponsors programs in three foreign countries: Austria (in cooperation with the University of Vienna Law School); Spetses, Greece; and Panama City, Panama.
These sessions offer a broad selection of comparative and international law courses, with particular emphasis on those relevant to the host countries’ legal systems and cultures. In summer 2015, 75+ students from throughout the United States and the world participated in these programs. Loyola’s foreign summer legal studies programs are open to students in good standing from any ABA accredited law school; Loyola students must hold a cumulative GPA of 2.20 in order to study abroad. Foreign law students and Loyola LL.M. students may also join the programs.
Vienna, Austria
The University of Vienna Law School is the site of Loyola’s oldest foreign summer program. One three-credit Comparative Legal Systems course is taught by University of Vienna and Loyola College of Law faculty. Side trips to Prague and Venice enhance the weekends during the program. In 2015, 26 students studied at Loyola’s Vienna program.
For more information on the Vienna program, please visit our website.
Spetses, Greece
Positioned strategically between East and West, near the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and being a member of the European Union since 1981, Greece is ideally situated as a microcosm of current legal issues. Spetses is the ideal place to observe the gap between rich, represented by wealthy Greek weekenders, and working class, exemplified by the year-round residents who are struggling with newly imposed austerity measures.
This program has been designed to examine legal, economic, and social issues in both an academic and experiential way.
Participants will have the opportunity to participate in a series of legal visits (including the mayoral office of Spetses), cultural tours, and festivals in Spetses and beyond. Additionally, students will have the option to participate in a service learning experience at Monastery of Aghioi Pandes.
In 2015, 33 students participated in the program.
For more information on the Spetses program, please visit our website.
Panama City, Panama
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law is pleased to present this dynamic and experiential two-week program in Panama City, Panama. This program is ideal for students who wish to study abroad and still have almost the entire summer for work. Panama is a particularly appropriate jurisdiction for a summer law program. Panama’s privileged geographic position, its dynamic financial sector, and the presence of the Panama Canal have combined to foster the development of a sophisticated legal sector.
Sharing features of Louisiana’s civil law system, Panama also shares some of the same unique characteristics as New Orleans – such as a rich Spanish colonial heritage, storied maritime history, and flourishing economy. These characteristics make Panama City an excellent choice as a venue for the examination of comparative and international issues associated with maritime law and arbitration law. In addition to being the first U.S. law summer abroad program in Panama, the Panama City program will continue Loyola’s tradition of offering quality Spanish language programs to our students.
Students will have the opportunity to participate in legal visits to the Supreme Court of Panama and the Panama Canal Authority. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in a service learning experience at the Ciudad del Saber (City of Knowledge).
In 2014, 20 students participated in the program. The program was not offered in 2015.
For more information on the Panama City program, please visit our website.
Since 1998, Loyola has regularly offered a field study of the principal institutions of the European Union (EU) for students studying this developing area of transnational law. Arriving in Brussels, the group participates in lectures and tours at the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, as well as an evening reception hosted by an American law firm. The group then travels by rail to Luxembourg to witness an oral argument at the European Court of Justice (with a preliminary case briefing and instruction in the court’s procedures). The field study then travels to Strasbourg, France, featuring tours and instruction at the European Parliament and the Council of Europe’s Court of Human Rights. The group then travels to Paris for a final weekend and return flights home. For more information on the EU Field Study, please visit our website.
Italy Field StudyThe Italy Field Study takes place over ten days in four different Italian cities: Rome, Florence, Bologna, and Venice. Participating students are required to complete a 1-3 credit research paper addressing key policy and legal issues, including but not limited to: founding of Rome, Ancient Roman Law, The Vatican and its historical influence, Italy's recent experience with immigration, history and art of Florence, the significance of Bologna to modern universities and law schools, the extent & importance of the Venetian Empire.
Loyola College of Law recognizes the important role ascribed to legal educaton in the 21st century, and we are committed to preparing students for today’s globalized and changing world. In order to best serve the diverse educational needs and professional ambitions of our students, Loyola offers semester exchange programs with our international partner schools. In addition to gaining a global perspective of the legal profession, students will enjoy the rich cultural, personal, and networking experiences that foreign travel brings. See below for current international semester exchange opportunities. Loyola currently has exchange programs with Xiamen University School of Law in China and Université de Cergy-Pontoise Faculté de droit in France.
Since 1995, Loyola’s Commercial Law Arbitration students have been invited to compete in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition at the University of Vienna School of Law in Austria. The invitational competition features teams from approximately 135 universities and 42 countries.
As described further in this bulletin, Loyola law students may also pursue special certification in the area of international law.
Loyola College of Law has enabled our students to benefit from having visiting professors from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Additional faculty exchanges have placed Loyola faculty around the world in places including Australia, Canada, China, Finland, France, Greece, South Korea, Lithuania, Brazil, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Speakers from Egypt, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Lebanon, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Portugal, Costa Rica and South Africa have also graced the portals of the law school. In addition, Loyola faculty members have published books, articles, and papers with presses and learned journals in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, and Malaysia.
A special advisory board of foreign law scholars and practitioners has for several years offered guidance to Loyola students and faculty in pursuing studies and research in international and comparative law. For more information about the Advisory Board, please visit our website.
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