About the Institute on International and Comparative Law
The Institute on International and Comparative Law is sponsored by the University of San Diego School of Law, in cooperation with the Centre d'Etudes Juridiques, Politiques et Economiques of the Institut Catholique de Paris, the Faculté de Droit de l'Université de Paris I Panthèon-Sorbonne, and the Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales. USD is solely responsible for the academic content of the programs.
The Institute was conceived in the summer of 1970. It has conducted summer law study programs in Paris since 1973 on international and comparative law, being the first U.S. law school program on the European continent. It has operated programs in London since 1979 on law relating to international business. In 1996, the Institute initiated a program in Barcelona on European law and a program in Florence on law related to creative endeavors.
The programs provide students with intensive training by total immersion, introduce American students to foreign law and institutions and Commonwealth and civil law students to American viewpoints and problem-solving methods, bring together experts from different schools and different countries for a summer of interchange, encourage joint research on International and Comparative Law topics, and sensitize students to cultural differences that influence effective international dealing.
The value of comparing approaches to similar problems in different legal systems is increasingly evident. One can deal more effectively with foreign lawyers and understand one's own legal system and its alternatives. Locating classes abroad increases the benefits by exposing students to a different cultural milieu, guest faculty viewpoints, and foreign legal institutions and history through tours and simulated legal proceedings.
A major feature of the Institute is the diversity of students. Participation of students from more than half-a-dozen countries is not unusual for any year's Institute, and the student body normally contains law students, lawyers, professors, and judges. Foreign students, lawyers, professors, and judges normally compose around 20% of the Institute's enrollment. USD's JD candidates account for another 30%. Enrollment of males and females is normally equal. However, enrollment in one particular program, especially a small program, can vary considerably from these norms in ways that are neither predictable nor consistent from year to year.
