Vorlesung

12.0

Bachelor

deutsch

4

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Mark Makowsky

Vorlesung

12.0

Bachelor

deutsch

4

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Friedemann Kainer

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

This course will introduce students to distinctive aspects that comprise the law and legal system of the United States. Topics will examine the interplay between state and federal court systems, as well as sources of law and lawmaking, the American legal education and becoming a lawyer. We will explore key subjects from first-year law school curriculum, including torts, contract, property, constitutional law, criminal law, and criminal and civil procedure. Other topics will include the jury trial, class actions, punitive damages, and practical aspects of the law in the United States, such as rules of discovery and the basics of legal research, writing and trial advocacy.

The course will be split into three parts: first, general aspects of U.S. laws and legal system; second, an overview of substantive topics in key subject areas of law; and, third, practicing law in the United States including commencing a lawsuit, research, and litigation.
 
Your final grade will comprise class preparedness, homework assignment (written or oral) and a written final exam. 

Sheila O'Laughlin

Vorlesung

6.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

This class makes the nature of Comparative Law as well as its functions and aims accessible to students from different legal backgrounds. As studying even one legal system fully is difficult and time-consuming, the course must necessarily take a selective approach to comparative law and to the multitude of legal systems in the world. The class Comparative Law I therefore will focus on European Legal Traditions, whose similarities and differences are an important driver of European harmonization. Matching the overall aim of this module the course will focus on private law and business law aspects of comparative law.

The course has three main components. The first part will cover the origins and utility of comparative law, its aims, tools and methods. This part will particularly focus on the legal orders, which the participants of the class are most familiar with.

The main second part of the course will look at common features of generally accepted concepts of both contract law and of building bricks necessary for any business law, such as division of work, liability, tort law and insurance. The different possible solutions for these problems, which appear in different forms in many jurisdictions, will be presented, followed by an analysis of how they are governed by legal orders belonging to different legal families. Lines of influence and hybrids will similarly be covered.

Furthermore, the course will give comparative legal insights to laws in trans­ition as well as legal trans­plants. Whereas former socialist European countries may serve as an example for the first, the adoption of economic concepts in contract law (such as merchandising and franchising from the US in Europe and the respective related problems of integration into European Union law) are paradigmatic for the second. The third part of the course will cover a comparison of legal education and profession (e.g. role of the judiciary), a critical matter for proper delivery of legal services to foreign clients and working effectively with international law partners.
 

Written examination

Prof. Dr. Oliver Brand

Kurs

6.0

Bachelor, Master

französisch

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Rupert Vogel

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Dr. Hannes Beyerbach

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

The amount and value of new digital objects appeared due to the ongoing development of information technologies and covered by the concept “digital assets” is constantly and impressively growing.  However, the legal landscape for such objects is still under considerations. The main issue that needs to be resolved to ensure rights of digital assets’ holders is which legal provisions are the most appropriate for the regulation of relations regarding digital assets. Recent legislative findings are considering the possibility to apply property law provisions to the latter. This creates a new concept of digital owner­ship, which might be implemented on the legislative level, having its specific features in common and civil law systems.

This course aims to both give understanding of the digital assets and ways to protect rights to digital assets in terms of current legislation and case law as well as defining digital owner­ship as a perspective way to protect rights to digital assets. Based on that, the course covers such topics:

•    Digital assets: notion, types, legal landscape
•    Digital owner­ship: European and American perspectives
•    Personal and machine-generated data owner­ship issues
•    Cryptocurrencies, NFT and other crypto-assets
•    Social media and online gaming accounts
•    Digital inheritance

The first topic aims to introduce current approaches to the definition of digital assets, describe types of digital assets and recent legislative findings on digital assets regulation. 
In the second chapter the concept of digital owner­ship as a type of owner­ship will be described, current developments on implementing this concept in European and American legal field will be highlighted, the feasibility and necessity of this concept for protection of rights to digital assets will be explained.

The third section looks into the current legal regulation of personal and machine-generated data, including GDPR, Database Directive and Data Act. It also aims to describe the concept of data owner­ship and its correlation with digital owner­ship. Issues of correlation between information and data concepts will be discussed in this section.
The fourth chapter aims to discuss approach to legal regulation of cryptocurrencies and other crypto-assets both at the European and national legislative level. It specifically focuses on the issues of NFT, including their trans­fer and connection to intellectual property rights.
Social media and online gaming accounts will be discussed from the digital owner­ship perspective. Tradable elements of the account will be revealed, current possibilities to protect rights and get benefits from social and online gaming accounts considering provisions of the Terms of Service will be discussed.

In the section on digital inheritance current issues and instruments to define post-mortal fate of digital assets will be discussed. Possible legal frames for common and civil law to dispose of digital assets will be highlighted, the US experience to solve this issue will be considered.  

Learning outcomes and qualification goals:

The course intends to provide students with a deeper understanding of the digital assets concept and approaches to protect rights to digital assets. Students will learn current legislative approaches to digital assets in different countries as well as on the European level, study current case law on digital assets.

Lecturer: Kateryna Nekit – Professor of Civil Law
National university „Odesa Law Academy“

Prof. Dr. Kateryna Nekit

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Carsten Schäfer

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

Written examination

Dr. Mateja Steinbrück-Platise

Vorlesung

6.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

Contents:
The course will provide a framework for an advanced comprehension of European private law in comparative perspective, with an eye on the impact of Community legislation and adjudication on national legal systems.
The focus of the first part is on the core aspect of European private law, namely contract law. It will cover both uniform rules, such as the uniform sales law (but also their predecessors PECL and UNIDROIT) on the one hand, the relevant directives harmonizing national private laws on the other. Further soft law as a driver for European Harmonization and national modernization will be covered.

In a second part general structures and core concepts of European private law will be covered. This will in particular relate to contracts as the most important means to create and organize legal environments on the one hand and the restraints on party autonomy in favour of the weaker party and the means for its protection (i.e. consumer law) on the other.

Throughout the course there will be a strong focus on cases and the differences the application of the mentioned legal sources to identical facts will result in.

• Development of European private law
• The different layers of legal sources
• Uniform sales law
• UNIDROIT and PECL
• Excessive harmonization
• The function of soft law
• Freedom of contracts as corner stone of European private law
• Restraints of party autonomy: the concept of the weaker party

Learning outcomes and qualification goals:
The course encourages close and interactive reading of key legislative and judicial texts, at both national and European levels (including decisions of the German Supreme Court (in English trans­lation) and of the European Court of Justice). The objective is to introduce students to a major range of European contract law disputes (formation of contract, unfair terms etc.) that require the handling of domestic, comparative and European Union private law materials and techniques at once. Further the course intends to foster critical awareness of the complex ways in which domestic private laws are subject to Europeanization, and how European laws re-arrange domestic private laws

Written examination

Prof. Dr. Andreas Maurer

Übung

6.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Achim Schunder

Übung

6.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Tödtmann, Dr. Sonja Schwald

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz/Online live

Prof. Dr. Philipp Fischinger

Vorlesung

10.0

Bachelor

deutsch

3

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Carsten Schäfer

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Oliver Brand

Vorlesung

10.0

Bachelor

deutsch

3

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Andreas Maurer

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz/Online live

This course will examine all major aspects of cross-border litigation as the conventional and most important method of international dispute resolution between private parties. Primary emphasis is on the conduct of international litigation in EU Member States, but there will also be comparative treatment of other major jurisdictions (notably the UK and the U.S.).

After introducing the concept of international litigation and the main policy issues at stake, the course will comprehensively address the crucial procedural law questions lawyers have to deal with when bringing a cross-border civil or commercial dispute to a national court. These include: international jurisdiction (Which court is competent?), coordination between different jurisdictions (lis pendens, provisional measures), conduct of proceedings (service of documents, taking evidence abroad) as well as recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments.

Students who have completed the course will have developed a sound understanding of international procedural law that will enable them to successfully work in a litigation context, be it in the judiciary, a law firm or a legal department. The course is suited for exchange and graduate students (LL.M., M.C.B.L.) in law and related fields as well as for LL.B. students aiming to cover the relevant aspects of international procedural law required for taking the First German State Exam according to § 8 Abs. 2 Nr. 5 JAPrO.

The course will cover the following subjects:
•    Concept and practical relevance of international litigation
•    Advantages and disadvantages of international litigation
•    Sources of international procedural law
•    International jurisdiction
•    Coordination between different jurisdictions
•    Conduct of proceedings
•    Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments

Course materials: Required reading materials will be provided or made available electronically via the university library. Introductory and further readings (optional):
•    Fentiman, Richard: International Commercial Litigation, 2nd edition, Oxford 2015, Oxford University Press
•    Hartley, Trevor C.: International Commercial Litigation, 3rd edition, Cambridge 2020, Cambridge University Press
•    Junker, Abbo: Internationales Zivilprozess­recht, 5th edition, München 2020, C. H. Beck

Assessment: Class participation and take-home-exam

Dr. Torsten Andreas Kindt

Vorlesung

8

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz/Online live

Required reading materials will be provided electronically.

Introductory Readings (optional):

• Cassese, Antonio, ‘International Criminal Law’ (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008)
• Cryer, Robert, ‘An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure’ (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2010)
• Schabas, William A., ‘The International Criminal Court: A Commentary on the Rome Statute’ (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2010)
• Werle, Gerhard, ‘Principles of International Criminal Law’ (The Hague, Asser, 2005)

You don’t need to buy one of these textbooks since they are only intended to provide you with a first insight into the subject matter. Besides, all are available at Mannheim University Library.

Raphael Oidtmann

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

Präsenz/Online live

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is a body of rules that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict. IHL protects those who are not participating in hostilities, and those who are no longer participating in hostilities. This body of law imposes limits on the methods and means of warfare. IHL forms part of public international law and is largely based on treaties and rules of customary international law. 
In this course the development as well as the basic concepts of IHL will be explored. Students will be introduced to the most important documents governing armed conflict, learn how to apply these and will consider the challenges posed to the application of IHL in armed conflicts. A large part of the course will focus on the new developments in IHL including the emergence of new forms of armed conflicts and the development and use of new technologies in armed conflict.

Assessment
Assessment for this course will consist of one presentation and one take-home exam.

Marelie Manders

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Moritz Renner

Vorlesung

6.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

Exchange students receive 6 ECTS

Oral examination

Dr. Stefan Zeyher

Kurs

8.0

Bachelor, Master

deutsch

– die Methode(n) der Auslegung und Anwendung des (geschriebenen) Rechts erlernen;
– das für die juristische Falllösung erforderliche „Handwerkszeug“ erwerben;
– sich ein strukturierendes Verstehen des Rechts als eines Systems erschließen.

Gast, Juristische Rhetorik, 5. Auflage (2015); Lagodny, Gesetzestexte suchen, verstehen und in der Klausur anwenden : Eine praxis­orientierte Anleitung für rechts­wissenschaft­liches Arbeiten im Strafrecht, Öffentlichen Recht, Zivilrecht, 2. Auflage 2013; ders., Juristisches Begründen (2014); Larenz/Canaris, Methodenlehre der Rechts­wissenschaft, 4. Auflage (2018); Zippelius, Juristische Methodenlehre, 11. Auflage (2012).

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Moritz Renner

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Jens-Uwe Franck

Vorlesung

12.0

Bachelor

deutsch

4

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Philipp Fischinger

Vorlesung mit Übung

10.0

Bachelor

deutsch

4

Präsenz live

Dr. Tobias Voigt

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz/Online live

This course on litigation finance will be particularly interesting for students who intend to work in dispute resolution, as inhouse lawyers, or in the litigation finance industry itself, which offers interesting careers at the intersection of law and finance. Litigation finance refers to the use of financial instruments to fund the costs of and trans­fer the risks inherent in litigation and arbitration. The most prominent of these financial instruments is third-party litigation funding (TPLF). In this practice, a specialized litigation finance provider pays the costs of a party in a lawsuit. If the case is successful, the funder receives a share of the recovered sums. If the case is lost, the funder does not receive anything and loses its investment. This way, the funder invests in litigation similar to a venture capital fund that invests in start-up companies. For claimholders, this means they have to bear neither cost nor adverse cost risk; they pay a success fee only if the case is won. As a result, they can enforce their rights where they would otherwise not have had the money or the risk-bearing capacity to do so. Thereby, TPLF can improve access to justice and serve as a risk and liquidity management tool for businesses involved in lawsuits. In addition, several insurance instruments have been developed and deployed to trans­fer the risks of legal disputes. In recent years, litigation finance has evolved into a global, multi-billion-dollar industry and has come to play a key role in a wide range of legal disputes, such as high-value commercial disputes, IP disputes, class actions, international commercial and investment arbitration, insolvency cases, or even family and inheritance disputes. Courts and legislators in various countries have noticed this trend and are developing doctrines and regulatory approaches to promote the benefits and mitigate the risks of this growing practice. This course provides an introduction to litigation finance from a legal, economic, and comparative perspective.

Topics that will be discussed include:
–    Legal and economic perspectives on lawsuits
–    Cost and cost allocation regimes
–    Right to access to justice
–    Valuation of legal claims
–    Methods of financing lawsuits
–    Legal and economic aspects of litigation finance trans­actions
–    Monetization of claims, portfolio funding, law firm funding
–    History of litigation finance in common law and civil law jurisdictions
–    Litigation finance in specific types of disputes (arbitration, class actions, IP disputes, …)
–    Emerging regulation of litigation finance
–    Litigation-related insurance
–    Litigation finance and lawyers’ ethical obligations 
–    Litigation as asset class

Reading materials: 
–    A selection of academic articles and book chapters will be provided.

Exam type: 
–    Students will write a graded paper and, depending on the number of students, hold a graded presentation on a topic in litigation finance.

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Mark Makowsky

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz/Online live

Prof. Dr. Erik Röder

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Oliver Brand

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Mark Makowsky

Vorlesung

10.0

Bachelor

deutsch

3

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Friedemann Kainer

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Holger Jenzen

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Dr. Manfred Muhler

Vorlesung

6.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz/Online live

Prof. Dr. Nadine Klass

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Dr. Tobias Voigt

Vorlesung

10.0

Bachelor

deutsch

3

Präsenz/Online live & aufgezeichnet

Prof. Dr. Patrick Schmidt

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

This course will introduce students to distinctive aspects that comprise the law and legal system of the United States. Topics will examine the interplay between state and federal court systems, as well as sources of law and lawmaking, the American legal education and becoming a lawyer. We will explore key subjects from first-year law school curriculum, including torts, contract, property, constitutional law, criminal law, and criminal and civil procedure. Other topics will include the jury trial, class actions, punitive damages, and practical aspects of the law in the United States, such as rules of discovery and the basics of legal research, writing and trial advocacy.

The course will be split into three parts: first, general aspects of U.S. laws and legal system; second, an overview of substantive topics in key subject areas of law; and, third, practicing law in the United States including commencing a lawsuit, research, and litigation.
 
Your final grade will comprise class preparedness, homework assignment (written or oral) and a written final exam. 

Sheila O'Laughlin

Vorlesung

6.0

Master

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Vorlesung

8.0

Master

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Vorlesung

6.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

This class makes the nature of Comparative Law as well as its functions and aims accessible to students from different legal backgrounds. As studying even one legal system fully is difficult and time-consuming, the course must necessarily take a selective approach to comparative law and to the multitude of legal systems in the world. The class Comparative Law I therefore will focus on European Legal Traditions, whose similarities and differences are an important driver of European harmonization. Matching the overall aim of this module the course will focus on private law and business law aspects of comparative law.

The course has three main components. The first part will cover the origins and utility of comparative law, its aims, tools and methods. This part will particularly focus on the legal orders, which the participants of the class are most familiar with.

The main second part of the course will look at common features of generally accepted concepts of both contract law and of building bricks necessary for any business law, such as division of work, liability, tort law and insurance. The different possible solutions for these problems, which appear in different forms in many jurisdictions, will be presented, followed by an analysis of how they are governed by legal orders belonging to different legal families. Lines of influence and hybrids will similarly be covered.

Furthermore, the course will give comparative legal insights to laws in trans­ition as well as legal trans­plants. Whereas former socialist European countries may serve as an example for the first, the adoption of economic concepts in contract law (such as merchandising and franchising from the US in Europe and the respective related problems of integration into European Union law) are paradigmatic for the second. The third part of the course will cover a comparison of legal education and profession (e.g. role of the judiciary), a critical matter for proper delivery of legal services to foreign clients and working effectively with international law partners.
 

Written examination

Prof. Dr. Oliver Brand

Vorlesung

6.0

Master

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Christian Arnold

Kurs

6.0

Bachelor, Master

französisch

Präsenz live

Prof. Dr. Rupert Vogel

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

The amount and value of new digital objects appeared due to the ongoing development of information technologies and covered by the concept “digital assets” is constantly and impressively growing.  However, the legal landscape for such objects is still under considerations. The main issue that needs to be resolved to ensure rights of digital assets’ holders is which legal provisions are the most appropriate for the regulation of relations regarding digital assets. Recent legislative findings are considering the possibility to apply property law provisions to the latter. This creates a new concept of digital owner­ship, which might be implemented on the legislative level, having its specific features in common and civil law systems.

This course aims to both give understanding of the digital assets and ways to protect rights to digital assets in terms of current legislation and case law as well as defining digital owner­ship as a perspective way to protect rights to digital assets. Based on that, the course covers such topics:

•    Digital assets: notion, types, legal landscape
•    Digital owner­ship: European and American perspectives
•    Personal and machine-generated data owner­ship issues
•    Cryptocurrencies, NFT and other crypto-assets
•    Social media and online gaming accounts
•    Digital inheritance

The first topic aims to introduce current approaches to the definition of digital assets, describe types of digital assets and recent legislative findings on digital assets regulation. 
In the second chapter the concept of digital owner­ship as a type of owner­ship will be described, current developments on implementing this concept in European and American legal field will be highlighted, the feasibility and necessity of this concept for protection of rights to digital assets will be explained.

The third section looks into the current legal regulation of personal and machine-generated data, including GDPR, Database Directive and Data Act. It also aims to describe the concept of data owner­ship and its correlation with digital owner­ship. Issues of correlation between information and data concepts will be discussed in this section.
The fourth chapter aims to discuss approach to legal regulation of cryptocurrencies and other crypto-assets both at the European and national legislative level. It specifically focuses on the issues of NFT, including their trans­fer and connection to intellectual property rights.
Social media and online gaming accounts will be discussed from the digital owner­ship perspective. Tradable elements of the account will be revealed, current possibilities to protect rights and get benefits from social and online gaming accounts considering provisions of the Terms of Service will be discussed.

In the section on digital inheritance current issues and instruments to define post-mortal fate of digital assets will be discussed. Possible legal frames for common and civil law to dispose of digital assets will be highlighted, the US experience to solve this issue will be considered.  

Learning outcomes and qualification goals:

The course intends to provide students with a deeper understanding of the digital assets concept and approaches to protect rights to digital assets. Students will learn current legislative approaches to digital assets in different countries as well as on the European level, study current case law on digital assets.

Lecturer: Kateryna Nekit – Professor of Civil Law
National university „Odesa Law Academy“

Prof. Dr. Kateryna Nekit

Vorlesung

8.0

Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

The course gives a thorough introduction to the legal problems, which may occur in the course of the use of the internet in general and e-commerce in particular. It is focused on the view of business related activities. Based on an introduction to the infrastructure of the internet the course will analyse the major legal issues of five economically relevant sections :

• E-Commerce & Private Law
• Advertising for e-commerce
• Online shops and copyright law
• Domains
• Cross border e-commerce

The chapter on E-Commerce & Private Law will inter alia cover formation of contract, standard terms and conditions, consumer protection and specific problems connected to internet auctions and mobile commerce.

Advertising for e-commerce will take a look at rules of unfair competition, required imprint information, the ban on spamming, specific requirements for sales of pharmaceutical products via the internet and, of course, on ad-words. Further the liability under tele media law, for hyperlinks, hotspot operators and for user generated content will be an important issue.

The section on copyright law and online shops will focus on copyright restrictions for the presentation of content (including file sharing and streaming) and will take a look on the protection of content and websites.

The section on domains will explain the domain name system and its implications on trademark law and unfair competition law. It will also look at the possibilities to protect a domain as trademark. Finally and the legal consequences of infringement will be covered.

Written examination

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

Written examination

Dr. Mateja Steinbrück-Platise

Vorlesung

6.0

Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

Over the past 40 years, the rules on Competition Law (Antitrust) in the EU have developed into a substantial body of law. They constitute directly applicable rules for enterprises, and as such they are of immediate concern to them. Contracts in violation of the rules are unenforceable and huge fines are imposed in case of infringements while parties that suffered damages may litigate before a national civil court.

This course offers an introduction to main areas of EU competition law illustrated by practical examples which in part reflect the lecturer’s own experience as an eminent German antitrust practitioner. Core elements of EU competition law treated include the concepts of horizontal and vertical restraints of competition, the importance of market definitions and the various techniques used therefore, the role of market power for Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (and implementing regulations and guidelines) and the basic outlines of European merger control.

It is the aim of the course to provide the participants with a solid basis for the practice of competition law. The course will cover the main features of the EU rules both from a substantive and a procedural perspective, including the relations­hip between EU and national competition law as well as the economic principles and procedures concerning merger control.

Written examination

Dr. Albrecht Bach

Vorlesung

6.0

Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

All private persons or companies upon entering one of the EU Member States not only come under this single State’s national legal order. They are immediately affected by “European Law”, the law of the European Union granting them certain rights and privileges but also requiring them to comply with certain duties and obligations.

The internal market is one of the essential cornerstones of the European Union. The Market Freedoms lie at its heart. The free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is essential for unifying the markets while ensuring competition and trade within Europe. The freedoms grant direct effective rights to private persons and legal persons, which can be enforced before national courts, and guarantee the freedom of contract in a trans­national perspective.

The course will focus on a systematic survey of the market freedoms by the means of studying the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

 

• General concept of the market freedoms
• Development and aim of market freedoms
• Leading cases of the European Court of Justice
• Function of market freedom fostering integration
• Further development of market freedoms
• Impact of market freedoms (compliance)

Written examination

Prof. Dr. Jens-Uwe Franck

Vorlesung

6.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

Contents:
The course will provide a framework for an advanced comprehension of European private law in comparative perspective, with an eye on the impact of Community legislation and adjudication on national legal systems.
The focus of the first part is on the core aspect of European private law, namely contract law. It will cover both uniform rules, such as the uniform sales law (but also their predecessors PECL and UNIDROIT) on the one hand, the relevant directives harmonizing national private laws on the other. Further soft law as a driver for European Harmonization and national modernization will be covered.

In a second part general structures and core concepts of European private law will be covered. This will in particular relate to contracts as the most important means to create and organize legal environments on the one hand and the restraints on party autonomy in favour of the weaker party and the means for its protection (i.e. consumer law) on the other.

Throughout the course there will be a strong focus on cases and the differences the application of the mentioned legal sources to identical facts will result in.

• Development of European private law
• The different layers of legal sources
• Uniform sales law
• UNIDROIT and PECL
• Excessive harmonization
• The function of soft law
• Freedom of contracts as corner stone of European private law
• Restraints of party autonomy: the concept of the weaker party

Learning outcomes and qualification goals:
The course encourages close and interactive reading of key legislative and judicial texts, at both national and European levels (including decisions of the German Supreme Court (in English trans­lation) and of the European Court of Justice). The objective is to introduce students to a major range of European contract law disputes (formation of contract, unfair terms etc.) that require the handling of domestic, comparative and European Union private law materials and techniques at once. Further the course intends to foster critical awareness of the complex ways in which domestic private laws are subject to Europeanization, and how European laws re-arrange domestic private laws

Written examination

Prof. Dr. Andreas Maurer

Vorlesung

8.0

Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

European Union Law has an increasing impact on the taxation of private individuals as well as of companies doing business in Europe. While the European Union has no original tax authority its law has a major influence on national tax laws.

The course will start with an introduction into European Union Tax Law, the aims and measures so far taken by European institutions. After that the course will cover the positive harmonization of indirect taxes mainly by European directives. In a third part the course will focus on secondary law harmonizing direct taxes in Europe, e.g. the Parent-Subsidiary Directive. In a last section the course deals with the importance of the fundamental freedoms for the taxation in Europe. A special focus will be put on the case law of the European Court of Justice.

• Basic principles of European Law
• Harmonization of indirect and direct taxes by primary and secondary law
• Fundamental freedoms referring to taxation in Europe
• Important case law

Lars Großmann

Vorlesung

6.0

Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

Parties to international disputes tend to strive for litigation in their home countries. This is primarily attributable to the parties’ and their representatives’ familiarity with the system and language. This tendency can even be observed in cases where an informed choice would prove a foreign venue to be more favourable, be it for procedural reasons (e.g. evidence, costs of litigation) or matters of substance (applicable law, ordre public, mandatory rules of the forum, scope of private autonomy).

The opposite effect can be observed with regard to arbitration. Arbitration often is chosen by parties in the belief that it is a superior means of dispute resolution, e.g. because it is said to be time- and cost-efficient, neutral, arbitrators ensure high legal quality and superior understanding of business contexts. In fact arbitration can be a very reasonable means of solving legal disputes. But whether state courts must be shy of the comparison will depend on the arbitration rules and venue chosen and the subject matter or the dispute.

The course consists of two parts: The first focuses on cross border litigation before state courts, the second will provide an overview on arbitration law.

• Introduction: Impact of the forum on the dispute (lex fori and lex causae)
• International Jurisdiction of state courts (Brussels I Regulation)
• Provisional measures and procedural strategy
• Access to evidence in cross-border litigation
• Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments (Brussels I Regulation)
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Arbitration
• Drafting arbitration agreements
• Introduction of common arbitration rules (ICC, LCIA, Swiss Rules, DIS)
• Conduct of arbitration proceedings
• Enforcing arbitration awards and the New York Convention

Written examination

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz/Online live

This course will examine all major aspects of cross-border litigation as the conventional and most important method of international dispute resolution between private parties. Primary emphasis is on the conduct of international litigation in EU Member States, but there will also be comparative treatment of other major jurisdictions (notably the UK and the U.S.).

After introducing the concept of international litigation and the main policy issues at stake, the course will comprehensively address the crucial procedural law questions lawyers have to deal with when bringing a cross-border civil or commercial dispute to a national court. These include: international jurisdiction (Which court is competent?), coordination between different jurisdictions (lis pendens, provisional measures), conduct of proceedings (service of documents, taking evidence abroad) as well as recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments.

Students who have completed the course will have developed a sound understanding of international procedural law that will enable them to successfully work in a litigation context, be it in the judiciary, a law firm or a legal department. The course is suited for exchange and graduate students (LL.M., M.C.B.L.) in law and related fields as well as for LL.B. students aiming to cover the relevant aspects of international procedural law required for taking the First German State Exam according to § 8 Abs. 2 Nr. 5 JAPrO.

The course will cover the following subjects:
•    Concept and practical relevance of international litigation
•    Advantages and disadvantages of international litigation
•    Sources of international procedural law
•    International jurisdiction
•    Coordination between different jurisdictions
•    Conduct of proceedings
•    Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments

Course materials: Required reading materials will be provided or made available electronically via the university library. Introductory and further readings (optional):
•    Fentiman, Richard: International Commercial Litigation, 2nd edition, Oxford 2015, Oxford University Press
•    Hartley, Trevor C.: International Commercial Litigation, 3rd edition, Cambridge 2020, Cambridge University Press
•    Junker, Abbo: Internationales Zivilprozess­recht, 5th edition, München 2020, C. H. Beck

Assessment: Class participation and take-home-exam

Dr. Torsten Andreas Kindt

Vorlesung

8

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz/Online live

Required reading materials will be provided electronically.

Introductory Readings (optional):

• Cassese, Antonio, ‘International Criminal Law’ (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008)
• Cryer, Robert, ‘An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure’ (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2010)
• Schabas, William A., ‘The International Criminal Court: A Commentary on the Rome Statute’ (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2010)
• Werle, Gerhard, ‘Principles of International Criminal Law’ (The Hague, Asser, 2005)

You don’t need to buy one of these textbooks since they are only intended to provide you with a first insight into the subject matter. Besides, all are available at Mannheim University Library.

Raphael Oidtmann

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

Präsenz/Online live

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is a body of rules that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict. IHL protects those who are not participating in hostilities, and those who are no longer participating in hostilities. This body of law imposes limits on the methods and means of warfare. IHL forms part of public international law and is largely based on treaties and rules of customary international law. 
In this course the development as well as the basic concepts of IHL will be explored. Students will be introduced to the most important documents governing armed conflict, learn how to apply these and will consider the challenges posed to the application of IHL in armed conflicts. A large part of the course will focus on the new developments in IHL including the emergence of new forms of armed conflicts and the development and use of new technologies in armed conflict.

Assessment
Assessment for this course will consist of one presentation and one take-home exam.

Marelie Manders

Vorlesung

6.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

Exchange students receive 6 ECTS

Oral examination

Dr. Stefan Zeyher

Kurs

8.0

Bachelor, Master

deutsch

– die Methode(n) der Auslegung und Anwendung des (geschriebenen) Rechts erlernen;
– das für die juristische Falllösung erforderliche „Handwerkszeug“ erwerben;
– sich ein strukturierendes Verstehen des Rechts als eines Systems erschließen.

Gast, Juristische Rhetorik, 5. Auflage (2015); Lagodny, Gesetzestexte suchen, verstehen und in der Klausur anwenden : Eine praxis­orientierte Anleitung für rechts­wissenschaft­liches Arbeiten im Strafrecht, Öffentlichen Recht, Zivilrecht, 2. Auflage 2013; ders., Juristisches Begründen (2014); Larenz/Canaris, Methodenlehre der Rechts­wissenschaft, 4. Auflage (2018); Zippelius, Juristische Methodenlehre, 11. Auflage (2012).

Vorlesung

8.0

Master

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Dr. Sonja Schwald

Vorlesung

8.0

Bachelor, Master

englisch

2

Präsenz/Online live

This course on litigation finance will be particularly interesting for students who intend to work in dispute resolution, as inhouse lawyers, or in the litigation finance industry itself, which offers interesting careers at the intersection of law and finance. Litigation finance refers to the use of financial instruments to fund the costs of and trans­fer the risks inherent in litigation and arbitration. The most prominent of these financial instruments is third-party litigation funding (TPLF). In this practice, a specialized litigation finance provider pays the costs of a party in a lawsuit. If the case is successful, the funder receives a share of the recovered sums. If the case is lost, the funder does not receive anything and loses its investment. This way, the funder invests in litigation similar to a venture capital fund that invests in start-up companies. For claimholders, this means they have to bear neither cost nor adverse cost risk; they pay a success fee only if the case is won. As a result, they can enforce their rights where they would otherwise not have had the money or the risk-bearing capacity to do so. Thereby, TPLF can improve access to justice and serve as a risk and liquidity management tool for businesses involved in lawsuits. In addition, several insurance instruments have been developed and deployed to trans­fer the risks of legal disputes. In recent years, litigation finance has evolved into a global, multi-billion-dollar industry and has come to play a key role in a wide range of legal disputes, such as high-value commercial disputes, IP disputes, class actions, international commercial and investment arbitration, insolvency cases, or even family and inheritance disputes. Courts and legislators in various countries have noticed this trend and are developing doctrines and regulatory approaches to promote the benefits and mitigate the risks of this growing practice. This course provides an introduction to litigation finance from a legal, economic, and comparative perspective.

Topics that will be discussed include:
–    Legal and economic perspectives on lawsuits
–    Cost and cost allocation regimes
–    Right to access to justice
–    Valuation of legal claims
–    Methods of financing lawsuits
–    Legal and economic aspects of litigation finance trans­actions
–    Monetization of claims, portfolio funding, law firm funding
–    History of litigation finance in common law and civil law jurisdictions
–    Litigation finance in specific types of disputes (arbitration, class actions, IP disputes, …)
–    Emerging regulation of litigation finance
–    Litigation-related insurance
–    Litigation finance and lawyers’ ethical obligations 
–    Litigation as asset class

Reading materials: 
–    A selection of academic articles and book chapters will be provided.

Exam type: 
–    Students will write a graded paper and, depending on the number of students, hold a graded presentation on a topic in litigation finance.

Vorlesung

4.0

Master

englisch

2

Präsenz live

Vorlesung

8.0

Master

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Dr. Manfred Muhler

Vorlesung

8.0

Master

deutsch

2

Präsenz live

Dr. Nils Häck

Vorlesung

8.0

Master

deutsch

2

Dr. Markus Adick