Learning objectives

The course provides the skills for a critical understanding of public and constitutional law by looking at legal phenomena though comparison of rules (‘law in the books’) and practical functioning (‘law in action’) of institutional systems. Comparison helps in particular to understand where rules come from, their meaning, their recurrence, their interrelations and how they operate. Through the comparative method, the course looks at the main elements of constitutional law, including the structure and functioning of constitutional systems, the systems of government and judicial review of legislation. The course teaches how to identify and to analyse legal problems, how to solve them, how to grasp the essence of the rules through critical thinking and how to develop a legal argument, especially in public law. These skills are required in further legal education and in every legal profession.