International and Comparative Law Program

International & Comparative Law Program brochure

The law school has a rich and exciting International and Comparative Law (ICL) Program, complete with specialized degree programs, course offerings, activities, student opportunities and more.

The key features of the program are summarized below and in this multilingual brochure, which describes the program components in five languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, Korean, and Spanish. In the video interview below, Raj Bhala, associate dean for international and comparative law, discusses the rich diversity of domestic and global viewpoints found in KU Law classrooms.


Curriculum

As pointed out in the Curriculum Guide for International Law and Business, KU offers a range of courses that fit into three related "tracks" or disciplines: (1) public international law, (2) (private) international business law, and (3) comparative law. The specific courses (which are described in the Curriculum Guide) include these:

  • Public International Law
  • International Commerce and Investment
  • International Trade Regulation
  • Advanced International Trade Regulation
  • International Economic Law and Development
  • Comparative Law
  • Islamic Law
  • International Human Rights

Faculty

With the addition of Professor Raj Bhala to the KU Law faculty, the law school has established an international presence in international trade and finance. In addition, all other key areas of international and comparative law are covered in the curriculum, service and scholarship that the KU faculty offers. Listed below, with their primary areas of teaching and research, are those faculty members concentrating most directly on international and comparative law. For information about any of them, please click on their name.


Certificate Program in International Trade and Finance

This program permits a student at KU Law to specialize his or her studies in the areas of international trade, international business, and international finance and to obtain, on satisfactory completion of the program requirements, a certificate reflecting that specialization. This Certificate Program joins the five other certificate programs offered by KU.

For details, click on Certificate Program in International Trade and Finance.

LL.M. in American Legal Studies

The LL.M. in American Legal Studies is designed to provide international students with an introduction to the breadth of American law. Students who complete the program will be prepared for further studying law in the United States, taking select bar examinations, and practicing law internationally.

Two-Year J.D. for Foreign-Trained Lawyers

The Two-Year J.D. for Foreign-Trained Lawyers is designed to provide a new and more effective method for foreign lawyers (described below) to get the credentials necessary to practice law in a U.S. jurisdiction, or to shorten the process of gaining an in-depth view of U.S. law for purposes of returning to a home country for legal practice, government service, or academic work. The type of "foreign lawyer" whom KU wishes to attract to this two-year J.D. program is one who holds a law degree from an accredited and well-regarded non-U.S. law school.

Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) Degree

Foreign-trained lawyers interested in pursuing careers as academicians (i.e. law professors and administrators), judges and arbitrators, government officials and practicing lawyers are eligible for the Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) degree. In most instances, to be considered for admission candidates must hold a master's degree in law (namely an LL.M. degree or M.C.L. degree). In an increasing number of countries, having an S.J.D. degree awarded by an American law school is extraordinarily helpful in promotion and advancement.

Overseas Visiting Scholar Program

The law school welcomes inquiries about its program for Visiting Scholars from overseas. The aim of this program is to enrich the law school community and the careers of outstanding professors, practitioners and graduate students by inviting such persons for short stays (usually between one month and one year in duration) to the law school.

For details, click on Overseas Visiting Scholar Program.

Study Abroad Opportunities

A rich array of opportunities for further study in the areas of international and comparative law is possible through one of the Study Abroad Programs offered by the KU School of Law. These currently include:

- The London program. The law school participates each spring in a semester-long study program organized by the London Law Consortium, consisting of seven ABA-approved law schools. The program consists of courses taught by visiting consortium faculty members resident in London, courses on the English Legal System and Law of the European Union taught by law lecturers from British universities, and a clinical externship program.

- The Istanbul program, held in the wonderful city that has been a legal, cultural and religious center for centuries. This four-week program, unlike most summer study abroad law programs sponsored by U.S. law schools, features the study of international and comparative law topics in classes that combine both American and Turkish law students, taught by American law professors. The Istanbul program is ABA-accredited (so students enrolled in it earn KU law credit) and has featured the participation of a U.S. Supreme Court justice as a visiting lecturer in two of the last three summers.

- The Ireland program, which places students in magical western Ireland for a four-week study of international and comparative law topics. This program, which KU manages with the University of Nebraska and the University of Limerick as co-sponsors, aims to provide students with a rich study abroad experience with a mix of faculty from Ireland and the United States. The program incorporates an educational trip to Dublin, and it aims to include some Irish students as well as U.S. students from the sponsoring law schools and others.

- The Cambridge program, which is designed (i) for undergraduates interested in legal careers, political science or business and (ii) for students accepted into KU Law who wish to start law school early with a study abroad program. The Cambridge program, building on nearly a decade of experience, features a collaboration between KU history and law faculty to bring students an enriching and insightful study abroad experience focusing on the history, politics and culture of the English and American legal systems, supplemented with special lectures and site visits.

Other Activities and Opportunities

Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition
Each fall, a moot court competition is conducted within the law school, coordinated by Professor Head, on a topic relating to international law. The competition includes both brief writing and oral arguments. All students, including first-year students, are eligible to compete. At the conclusion of the competition, cash awards are given for the best briefs and the best oral arguments, and a team of students is chosen to represent KU at the regional level of the Jessup International Moot Court Competition. Team members receive 2 credit hours in the spring semester. For the regional competition, which is held at a law school in the area in January/February, the KU team prepares two briefs and presents several oral arguments. The KU team has won the regional competition in four of the last eight years. For details, see Professor Head.

Stetson International Environmental Law Moot Court Competition
Each spring, a three-person moot court team is selected to represent the school in a competition sponsored by Stetson University law school. The competition, which attracts more than two dozen law school teams from half a dozen or so countries, focuses on international environmental law and provides students an opportunity to study, write about and hone their oral advocacy skills on a hypothetical problem, before internationally known judges. The oral argument phase of the competition involves a trip to Florida in late October. For details, see Professor Head or Professor Keller.

International Law Society
The Dwight D. Eisenhower International Law Society, formed more than three decades ago, has numerous activities and functions. These include sponsoring of speakers to visit the law school to discuss current topics in international and comparative law. The ILS also coordinates the gathering and dissemination of information about job opportunities in international law and business, including group participation in career workshops in Kansas City and elsewhere. It also provides support for the Jessup moot court competition, and it helps publish an occasional newsletter titled "International Law at KU," designed to inform members of the law school community of recent developments and coming events. The ILS faculty advisers are Professor Head and Professor Bhala. Membership applications are available on the ILS bulletin board in the first floor commons or from ILS officers listed there.

Career Opportunities in International Law and Business
As a supplement to the work of the ILS and the Career Services office, each year Professor Head presents at least one "noon forum" on this topic. The presentation is based on an outline of career opportunities, classified by types of career paths and types of employers, and is structured around an annotated handout designed to give guidance on where to obtain current information on internships, permanent jobs, graduate study opportunities, and so on. Copies of the handout are available from Professor Head at any time.

Other Speakers and Events
The law school hosts numerous workshops, colloquia and speakers each year, many of them by the ILS (see above), to address topics of current interest in the areas of international and comparative law. In the past few years these have included speakers on the Asian financial crisis; the legal system in Tanzania; recent political and economic developments in Russia, Namibia, Kazakhstan, China and the European Union; criminal justice in Turkey; legal aspects of U.S. involvement in the Gulf War; WTO membership for China; and recent decisions of the International Court of Justice. Opportunity for student discussion of such topics has come also in the form of "debates" over U.S. participation in the United Nations and in regional trade pacts


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