LAW 5015 - Legal Traditions and Systems

Credit(s): 3
This course will examine the impacts of the Roman civil law and the Anglo-American common law, the two great legal cultures of the Western world, on the Louisiana legal system. The course will first describe the distinctive methodologies of the civil law and the common law and the historical contents in which those methodologies emerged. It will then explore how these two cultures have influenced Louisiana law. In particular, the latter portion of the course will focus on the significance of merging a private law governed by a civil code with public law and judicial institutions with Anglo- American roots as well as the scope of content of Louisiana’s Civil Code. To the extent time permits, the course will also make appropriate comparisons with other jurisdictions (e.g., Quebec and Puerto Rico) that have combined private law governed by the civilian tradition and a public law with roots in the Anglo tradition.