Abstract:
The value of comparative law as a legal research method is well established. Its ubiquitous presence in postgraduate and doctoral programs aimed at training legal academics is therefore not surprising. However, recent years have witnessed the emergence of a number of ‘professional’ undergraduate and postgraduate programs (in the sense that they aspire to train ‘practitioners’ and not only academics), where comparative law replaces the traditional focus on a single jurisdiction. The best examples thereof are the Bachelor in International and European Law of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and IE University’s Bachelor in Laws in Spain. The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the assumption that drives this type of programs (namely, that comparative law can be an effective tool to train ‘practitioners’, despite the national dimension of most legal markets). In order to do so, the paper spells out the possibilities and challenges raised by this approach, from the perspective of higher education institutions, instructors and students.
Speaker:
Dr. Fernando Pastor-Merchante, Assistant Professor of Law, IE University
Fernando Pastor-Merchante is Assistant Professor of Law at IE University, where he teaches Constitutional law, Administrative law and EU law. His research interests lie in the field of EU Administrative law, with a special focus on State aid governance. He holds a dual Bachelor degree in Law and Political Science by Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), a Master of Laws by Columbia University School of Law (New York, US) and a Ph.D. in Law by the European University Institute (Florence, Italy).