Teaching Foreign, Comparative and International Legal Research
According to a recent informal survey by Vicki Szymczak, Library Director & Associate Professor of Law at the University of Hawaii, there are 32 law schools offering some type of Foreign, Comparative and/or International Legal Research classes! If you are involved in the teaching of FCIL topics, everything you need to help you pull together a class teaching foreign, comparative and/or international law (FCIL) can be found in our
Syllabi and Course Material Database.
Thinking about proposing an FCIL class of your own? Check out our compilation of course descriptions below:
Fordham University School of Law - International/Foreign Legal Research Workshop
- aims to provide students with the basic foundation to research international, comparative and foreign law competently. It addresses relevant methods and sources, both print and electronic. It covers research on specialized areas such as international trade, international business transactions, international litigation and arbitration, the United Nations, the European Union and selected foreign jurisdictions. As a final project, students will prepare a pathfinder on an international, foreign or comparative law topic. (2 credits).
Fordham University School of Law - International Humanitarian Law Research
- aims to provide students with the basic foundation to research international humanitarian law. It addresses relevant methods and sources, both print and electronic. The course will cover, among other topics, the following: the nature and sources of international law; the nature and scope of international human rights and humanitarian law; the reporting and monitoring mechanisms under the U.N. human rights bodies, charter-based and treaty-based; regional human rights systems (e. g. the European, Inter-American & African); travaux-preparatoires of human rights and humanitarian law instruments; the jurisprudence of human rights organizations; and asylum and refugee law. (2 credits)
Georgia State University College of Law - International and Foreign Legal Research
- This course will provide an overview of international and foreign legal research. Students will receive a solid grounding in the practical skills and knowledge required for research in these areas. Foreign legal systems, international treaties, intergovernmental organizations and other related topics will be addressed. Theoretical principles -- such as developing cost-and time-efficient research strategies -- will also be covered. Electronic resources will be the primary focus of the class, though students will learn about, use and evaluate print resources as well. Students will be evaluated based on legal research assignments, in-class presentations and a take-home exam which tests their understanding of research tools and ability to perform foreign and international legal research tasks. (2 credits)
University of Pennsylvania School of Law - Research in Foreign and International Law
- This course will familiarize students with the basic sources in international law and the national law of key foreign jurisdictions, and help students develop the necessary skills to efficiently research transnational legal questions. Students will learn how to find international treaties, decisions of international tribunals, United Nations and European Union documents, and legislation and court decisions of selected common law and civil law countries. International trade, human rights and foreign constitutional, environmental, intellectual property and tax law research will also be singled out for special attention. As much as possible, the emphasis will be on English language materials and reliable online sources for foreign and international law.