JUR610 Legal History and Comparative Law (Spring 2026)

Norwegian law has become subject to an extensive internationalization especially in the last decades, but also historically. The course provides students with historical and comparative perspectives on law, and conveys knowledge, skills and terminology needed in order to operate in an international legal environment.

Comparative law and legal history both require understanding of the historical context and legal culture the law operates under.

The course will start with an historical approach focused on Roman law, and the separation between Jus Civile and Jus Gentrium, and follow these two legal systems into modernity and todays Civil Law legal families and International Law. The course will also include the evolution of the Roman Empire and the stages between the first Roman kings, the Republic, the Principate and the Dominate with an emphasis on the legal institutions of the Republic period and their inspired influence on modern constitutions and legal theory.

After the fall of the Roman Empire the course will focus on Germanic law, and its development into the current Common Law legal family and the Nordic legal family. The course will also focus on the influence that Roman Law has had on these legal systems, especially through Corpus Juris Civilis and academic institutions and church institutions, but also on Merchant Law and the development of Lex Merchatoria.

With this historical context the course will compare some select modern constitutions such as the US, UK and Norwegian constitutions. Furthermore, it will look at some aspects of Common Law such as Equity and legal instruments in contract law. The course will in particular compare the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts with Norwegian law, as a way to illustrate comparative law methods.

Comparing legal cultures both historically and comparatively will enable students to identify, explain and analyse similarities and difference among legal cultures and allow them to discuss particular challenges of the internationalisation of law for national legal cultures.

The overall aim of the course is, first to enhance the students’ ability to understand, evaluate, discuss and critically analyse Norwegian law in a European and global perspective. Second, the course aims at enhancing the students’ skills to reflect academically. This encompasses the ability to write papers according to international scientific standards. Third, the course offers a unique opportunity to get into contact and to cooperate with students from other legal cultures. For Norwegian students this entails internationalisation at home. Fourth, the course provides a unique opportunity to learn more about the Norwegian legal culture its historical roots and interaction with other cultures, both in the past and at present. Fifth, the language of the course and almost all teaching materials except for the materials on the Norwegian Legal History are provided in English. Hence, the course contributes to enhance the students’ ability to understand, communicate and discuss legal content in an international language, both orally and in writing.

Knowledge in Legal History:

Candidates shall be able to

• explain the development of law in Germanic societies and in Norway in particular

• explain the evolution of Roman Law

• explain the development of Roman law and its influence in continental Europe, Common Law countries and in Norway

Knowledge in Comparative Law:

Candidates shall be able to

• describe and explain concepts such as legal systems, legal families, and legal cultures

• explain the difference of legal method between the different legal families, and select differences in law and institutions

• explain different comparative law methods, such as the legal cultural model, the legal sea- model and the compass model

Skills

The student shall be able to

· Identify legal cultural entities and delimit them from related concepts such as legal system, legal family or legal tradition,

· Use the legal cultural model to analyse the interaction between the institutional and intellectual structures of legal cultures and in particular between the elements of the legal cultural model,

· Use the legal historical knowledge to explain the contemporary nature of a given legal culture

· Conduct a legal comparison based on the hermeneutical process described by the COMPASS-formula

· Discuss the merits and limitations of classifications such as the distinction between civil and common law, taxonomies base on the idea of legal families or legal traditions

· Critical evaluate the concept of ‘mixed legal systems

General competence

The students shall have achieved the competence to

· Communicate and discuss legal issues with foreign lawyers based on an unbiased appreciation for legal cultural differences

· Actively participate in debates concerning the impact of internationalisation and globalisation on national legal cultures

· Write an academic paper in English and in concordance to scientific standards

· Work in international teams of lawyers

· Present the results of legal cultural, comparative or historical studies orally to an audience of international lawyers in English

· Develop research questions and designs for comparative and/or historical research projects

• Mandatory coursework: Assignment(s)
• Courseworks given: 1
• Courseworks required: 1
• Presence: Not required
• Comment:

• Form of assessment: Digital school assessment - Inspera
• Proportion: 100%
• Duration: 6 Hours
• Grouping: Individual
• Grading scale: Letter (A - F)
• Support material: Only general dictionary in mother tongue/Norwegian/English in paper version