Paris Summer Comparative Law Program

Sponsored by Universite Paris Ouest and Golden Gate University School of Law

The GGU Paris Summer Comparative Law Program operates each June, in partnership with the University of Paris Ouest (Nanterre La Defense), or UPO. All classes are held at the Nanterre campus on the western edge of Paris, and are team-taught by a French professor and a professor from the United States. Most students reside in dorm-style studio apartments on the beautiful campus of the Cite International Universite de Paris, located in southern Paris (14th arrondissement).

The academic portion of the program is divided into two sessions lasting two weeks each, as described below. All classes are taught in English. Most classes meet in the afternoon, leaving ample time for cultural activities and independent study.

During the first session (weeks 1 and 2), all students take a single two-unit course, Introduction to French & EU Law. The course is co-taught by our French co-director, Professor Anne Deysine of Nanterre, and GGU Professor Helen Hartnell. Classes typically meet four days a week for 210 minutes of class time each day (usually three 60-75 minute sessions), and include lectures by faculty, lawyers, public officials and judges at law firms, courts and agencies. Our off-campus excursions typically include at least two of the three French Supreme Courts (the Civil/Criminal Court, the Administrative Court, and the Constitutional Court, with lectures at each by members of the Court), an overnight trip to visit the European Commission in Brussels, and visits to major international law firms.

During the second session (weeks 3 and 4), students choose one of several two-unit comparative law courses, and are joined in the classroom by French and other EU graduate law students. Students are in class four days a week for two or three 60-75 minute sessions each day, followed by a 60-90 minute panel or mini-conference on a topic of comparative law. Each course is team taught by an American law professor and a French law professor from the University of Paris faculty. Panels consist of important academics, judges and lawyers with insight into foreign and comparative law.

If you have an existing Westlaw TWEN account, you can add the Paris Summer Program to your courses by simply adding the course titled GGU/UPO Paris Summer Comparative Law Program 2012 on TWEN and you'll be added.

Non-Westlaw users can obtain a guest login to the TWEN course by emailing parisprogram@ggu.edu. You will receive a password by email.

Priority is given to applicants who submit their application materials before the Priority Application deadline of March 15, 2012. Applications are accepted as late as May 1 if space permits. The elective courses for 2012 are currently scheduled to be:

• Comparative Corporate Law with Professor Eric Gouvin of Western New England College School of Law and Professor Katrin Deikert from the University of Paris.
  
• Comparative Criminal Justice with Professor Rachel Van Cleave of GGU and Professor Pascal Beauvais from the University of Paris.
  
• Comparative Equality and Fundamental Rights with Professor Eric Christiansen of GGU and Professor Stephanie Hennette-Vouchez of the University of Paris.
• Comparative Environmental Law with Deepa Badrinarayana, Associate Professor of Law, Chapman University School of Law.
  

Read the Course descriptions for the program. (Individual courses are subject to change or cancellation).

Read about the faculty for the 2011 program.

Course Credits

• US and Canadian students earn 4 credits in the program.
• EU students may arrange for credits through University of Paris Ouest (UPO).

Read the Credit and Enrollment policies for the 2012 program. During the second session we sponsor a series of small conferences / panels with internationally recognized academics, jurists and advocates. Guests in previous years have included: Mary M. Schroeder, former Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Catharine McKinnon of the University of Michigan School of Law, Charles Ogletree of Harvard Law School, Nadine Strossen, President of the National ACLU, Jesse Choper of the University of California Berkeley School of Law, Eva Paterson, President of the Equal Justice Society, Sophie Latraverse, chief counsel of the HALDE (the French equivalent of the EEOC), AALS President-elect Rachel Moran, Bertrand du Marais, a member of the Counseil d'Etat (the Council of State, which is the French supreme court for administrative law cases), and leaders of several North American and European civil rights organizations.

Our special guests have addressed such interesting issues as sex equality and globalization, comparative racial justice, US/EU views of liberty and security after 9/11, and comparative secularism and religious expression. The presentations are open to the public, and attract a wide range of attendees. A limited number of unpaid four week internships at French law firms are available immediately following the program for students who wish to extend their stay. Admitted students will be asked to submit additional materials if they wish to participate in an internship. Internship materials (a resume and cover letter--including language proficiency and work interest, e.g., criminal, labor, etc.) should be submitted separately on or before March 15, 2012. In order to help orient our US students to Paris, and to French law and culture, we sponsor several orientation events. In 2012 we will take a cruise on the Seine, host a dinner in the Latin Quarter, and sponsor a night out on the town with English-speaking French law students. For US, Canadian and other common law students, the 2012 program begins on June 1, 2012 with mandatory orientation. Housing check-in is on June 1, 2012. Classes begin on June 4. The final day of the program is June 29, 2012. Students should not plan on leaving before and must check out of their rooms on June 30, 2012. We recommend that students plan on arriving in Europe no later than May 29, in order to adjust to the time difference before classes begin.

For French and other civil law students, the program begins on June 18 and continues through June 29, 2012. Classes will be held at the University of Paris Ouest (Nanterre La Defense) (UPO) Law School campus, located near the La Defense neighborhood. The campus has its own Metro stop and has a law library and computer labs for student use.

Students will have full access to the main UPO law library, which has an extensive collection. The library director is fluent in English and will give a tour of the library and a lecture on sources of French and EU law early in the program.

GGU and UPO have a longstanding partnership and work closely to promote comparative law scholarship and a better understanding of our respective legal systems through student and faculty exchanges. The summer program is co-directed by a UPO professor and former dean, is partially conducted at UPO, and relies substantially on UPO faculty as team members with US faculty in team-teaching classes. UPO also provides administrative support and recruits and enrolls EU and other non-US/Canadian law students to participate for UPO academic credit.

Visit the UPO website. (Note: The website is in French.) The program typically includes the following trips to legal institutions (subject to change):

• Visits to two of the three French Supreme Courts, the Cour de Cassation (the highest civil court in France), the Conseil d'État (the highest administrative court in France), and/or the Conseil Constitutional, including meetings with judges and/or lawyers from these courts.
• Visit to CRFPA at Versailles, a training school for French lawyers. A presentation will be made explaining the requirements to practice law in Europe, the French bar exam (CFPA), and the impact of European federalism and its requirement of free circulation on the legal profession.
• Special Visit to the European Commission in Brussels, An over-night field trip to Brussels, the EU capital, with meetings with commissioners and staff on enlargement, the status of the new EU constitution, EU standards, free circulation of goods, and/or tax harmonization.

Students have the option to be housed in dorm-style single rooms at the beautiful Cite International Universitaire de Paris (CIUP), located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. CIUP has its own Metro stop. Learn more about CIUP. Golden Gate University welcomes US & Canadian applicants who have successfully completed at least one year at a law school accredited in their respective country.

There is a nonrefundable application fee of $30 (free for currently enrolled GGU Law students). Applications will be reviewed on a rolling admissions basis starting November 1, 2011. Preference is given to applications received by March 15, 2012, but applications will be considered after that date if space is available. In past years, the Program has admitted nearly all qualified students who applied by the March 15 Priority Application Date.

Golden Gate University anticipates that most European students participating in the program will be French nationals but that several other European countries will also be represented. The program will be limited to 60 US/Canadian students and 40 EU students.

View the Requirements for Admission.

The application for 2012.

Applications should be returned to the Paris Program Co-Director, Professor Chester S. Chuang at the GGU address on the application. Applicants will typically be notified of acceptance within two weeks of receipt of their completed application by GGU.

Enrollment

Admitted students will receive enrollment, deposit and class preference information with their notification of admission. The Enrollment and Deposit Form must be completed and returned to the Program by the date indicated on the acceptance letter. Additional requirements due at that time include a photo copy of the front pages of your passport and a letter of good standing from your law school's registrar. (Enrollment is typically dependent upon continued good standing at your home institution.)

A non-refundable $250 deposit is due with submission of your Enrollment and Deposit Form. This $250 will be applied toward your program tuition and costs. 2012 tuition and fees (subject to change):
US and Canadian students pay $5,960 (US), which includes:

Tuition for 4 semester units of credit at $1,340/unit (total = $5,360)

Fees of $600 to cover the following items: Overnight field trip to Brussels; Books, readers and other program materials; Receptions with French lawyers, judges and government officials; Welcome dinner, reception, and cruise on the Seine; French liability insurance; Month-long French Metro Card

Housing Option at Cité internationale universitaire de Paris is an additional $1,290

Refund Policy
The $250 deposit is not refundable, but will be applied to the program fees.

Except in the case of cancellation of the program, or academic disqualification from GGU (see below), students who cancel after April 21 will still be required to pay $2,000 to cover housing and administrative costs.

Golden Gate University students who are academically disqualified after arriving in Paris may opt to remain in the program or withdraw. Students who withdraw will receive no refund on their housing charge, and must vacate the CIUP campus; however, they will receive a refund of tuition minus a $700 charge.

EU students should contact Professor Anne Deysine of University of Paris Ouest for tuition and costs.

Students are responsible for:

Their own transportation to and from Paris; nearly all meals (subsidized student meals are available at CIUP and UPO for approximately $6.00 per meal); and travel and or medical insurance (optional). The GGU/UPO Summer Program in Paris is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Read other details for information about: Requirements for Admission, Credit and Enrollment, Tuition and Costs, Schedule of Payments, Access for People with Disabilities, Refund Policy, and Cancellation Policy. US and Canadian students should contact:
Professor Chester Chuang and Professor Eric Christiansen
Golden Gate University School of Law
Co-Directors GGU/UPO Summer Law Program
(415) 442-6640 parisprogram@ggu.edu

EU students should contact:
Professor Anne Deysine
University of Paris Ouest (Nanterre)
Co-Director GGU/UPO Summer Law Program
anne.deysine@u-paris10.fr

Information last updated on November 28, 2011.