JUR5240 – Comparative Private Law
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
New course code starting from the fallsemester 2011 - please see the website for JUS5240 – Comparative Private Law (discontinued) (the course now gives 10 credits).
The aim of the course is to focus on the main features of the law of contracts in various legal systems of the world, to show the common features and the main differences. A proper understanding of the relevant legal systems is necessary, first of all, if one is involved in an international legal relationship. However, insight in various legal systems is very useful also to understand and develop one’s own legal system, especially in light of the stronger and stronger internationalization of the legal sources.
A proper understanding of various legal systems assumes that these are studied with the correct method. It is not useful to use one’s own legal categories as a starting point, and look for corresponding rules in the foreign system. Often it will not be possible to find corresponding rules, but the foreign system will achieve similar results by adopting other legal mechanisms, that are peculiar to that particular system.
The course will focus on the contract law of the common law and the civil law legal families (which again are to be divided into Romanistic, Germanic and Nordic systems), with references also to the system of the Former Soviet Union and the process that this is undergoing. Attention will also be devoted to the most important instruments of harmonization of contract law on an international level.
Learning outcome
On completion of this course, the student should be able to:
- Appreciate the main features of the contract law of the common law and the civil law legal families, as well as of the most important instrument for the international harmonization of the law of contracts.
- Understand the interests and functions underlying the legal rules and legal structures in the respective legal families.
- Recognize the different legal techniques that the various legal families adopt to achieve similar results.
- Recognize how apparently similar regulations in different legal families may bring to different results.
See ‘Detailed course information’ regarding requirements and syllabus.
Admission
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams
they wish to sign up for by registering a study plan in StudentWeb.
You may register for this course if you have admission to a Master of Law-programme at UiO, the faculty's exchange-programme or have admission to Law-electives at masters-level. All applicants must fill the formal prerequisites.
International applicants, if you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants
Prerequisites
Formal prerequisite knowledge
- Admission to the faculty’s exchange-programme or
- Active study-right for a study programme, masters-level at the University of Oslo or
- Norwegian Masters of Laws degree or equivalent or
- Passed forth year, 96 – Cand. Jur programme (or exams that are equivalent) or
- Passed JUR3000, Masters of Laws programme at the University of Oslo (or exams that are equivalent).
Recommended previous knowledge
Three years of law studies.
Overlapping courses
- 15 credits overlap with VALCOMPL – Comparative Private Law (discontinued)
- 15 credits overlap with VALKOMP
- 15 credits overlap with JUXCOMPL – Comparative Private Law (discontinued)
- 15 credits overlap with JUXKOMP
- 15 credits overlap with JUTCOMPL – Comparative Private Law (discontinued)
- 10 credits overlap with JUR1240 – Comparative Private Law (BA) (discontinued)
- 15 credits overlap with JUVOKOMP
This course is a useful complement to the courses JUR5230 , which focuses on the sources regulating international contracts, and JUR5280 – Internasjonal privatrett (discontinued) (in Norwegian), which focus on the question of choice of the applicable law in international legal relationships.
Teaching
Lectures/seminars.
Examination
4 hour written examination.
Examination support material
Auxiliary materials allowed during examinations for courses taught in English.
Language of examination
Students may answer the examination question in English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish pursuant to Regulations governing studies and examinations at the University of Oslo. (§ 5.4 Forskrift om studier og eksamener ved Universitetet i Oslo)
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Explanations and appeals
Resit an examination
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Resitting an examination.
- There are special rules for resitting a passed examination in the master's programme in Law.
Withdrawal from an examination
It is possible to take this exam up to 3 times. If you withdraw from the exam after the deadline or during the exam, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
There are special rules for resitting a passed examination in the master's programme in Law.
Special examination arrangements
Application form, deadline and requirements for special examination arrangements.
Please se Detailed regulations for the Faculty of Law, Chapter 3 regarding application, responsibilities and special measures.
Evaluation
The course is subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students to participate in a more comprehensive evaluation.
Other
This subject is taught at Master 's level. The subject is also taught at Bachelor's level (15 ECTS credits), see JUR1240 – Comparative Private Law (BA) (discontinued).
Please see the chapter above, regarding overlap. For instances of overlap, credits will be deducted on the subject at Bachelors's level.