Comparative Law in Legal Education

Abstract

This chapter discusses comparative law within the framework of legal education in North America and Europe. It first considers some of the key debates surrounding the teaching of comparative law before providing a historical overview of major developments on both sides of the Atlantic since the nineteenth century. It then examines the post-World War II resurgence of comparative law in US legal education and the ascent of comparative law teaching in Europe, as well as the place of comparative law in legal education today. It also analyzes the present role of comparative law teaching in the European Union, the impact of international and transnational law on comparative legal education in the United States, and comparative law in Australia and Canada. The chapter concludes with a review of some of the current challenges to comparative law as a subject of teaching and scholarship and how comparative law fits into legal education more generally.