Principles of Common Law

The class will take place every Tuesday, 12:15-13:45, from 20 September 2022 until 20 December 2022.

It will be held as a hybrid lecture, in room KOL-F-121 and as an online live stream Zoom meeting. Subsequently, it can be viewed online as a presentation.

Check this website for the link to the Zoom meetings.

Syllabus (PDF, 217 KB)

 

Please check the syllabus regularly for updates

Kern Alexander is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Principles of Common Law Lecture
Time: Sep 20, 2022 12:15 PM Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
        Every week on Tue, until Dec 20, 2022, 14 occurrence(s)
        Sep 20, 2022 12:15 PM
        Sep 27, 2022 12:15 PM
        Oct 4, 2022 12:15 PM
        Oct 11, 2022 12:15 PM
        Oct 18, 2022 12:15 PM
        Oct 25, 2022 12:15 PM
        Nov 1, 2022 12:15 PM
        Nov 8, 2022 12:15 PM
        Nov 15, 2022 12:15 PM
        Nov 22, 2022 12:15 PM
        Nov 29, 2022 12:15 PM
        Dec 6, 2022 12:15 PM
        Dec 13, 2022 12:15 PM
        Dec 20, 2022 12:15 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://uzh.zoom.us/j/68117749062?pwd=Y2s4U0k1Zlp6SGEwcDZxTXRtcEgxUT09

Meeting ID: 681 1774 9062
Passcode: 925122

The podcasts / Zoom recordings can be watched here. Please note that due to technical difficulties individual lectures may not be recorded or only with disturbance. Students who forgo the attendance of a lecture or the writing of their own notes do so at their own risk. For technical reasons, the constant availability of records cannot be guaranteed. The loss of access to the recordings is not sufficient cause for an appeal against the examination. Scripts or other materials declared as examination relevant take priority over the podcasts / zoom recordings. In case of ambiguity contact the lecturer immediately. The recordings are for private use only. Redistribution in whatever form, in whole or in part, is not permitted without consent of the lecturer and may be punished by disciplinary measures or otherwise.

Lecture 1, 20 September 2022

Lecture 2, 27 September 2022

Lecture 3, 4 October 2022

Lecture 4, 11 October 2022

Lecture 5, 18 October 2022

Lecture 6, 25 October 2022

Lecture 7, 1 November 2022

Lecture 8, 8 November 2022

Lecture 9, 15 November 2022

Lecture 10, 22 November 2022

Lecture 11, 29 November 2022

Lecture 12, 6 December 2022

Lecture 13, 13 December 2022

Lecture 14, 20 December 2022

Written open-book examination

Date: Friday, January 6, 2023

Time: 13:00 (2 hours)

For information, please visit:

Link forthcoming

Module booking: https://www.students.uzh.ch/de/booking.html

Mock Exam Questions: 

Mock Exam Questions_PCL (PDF, 52 KB)

Lecture 1 (20 September) (PDF, 519 KB)

Lecture 2 (27 September) (PDF, 573 KB)

Lecture 3 (04 October) (PDF, 986 KB) 

Lecture 4 (11 October) (PDF, 776 KB)

Lecture 5 (18 October) (PDF, 641 KB)

Lecture 6 (25 October) (PDF, 735 KB)

Lecture 7 (1 November) (PDF, 702 KB)

Lecture 8 (8 November) (PDF, 240 KB)

Lecture 9 (15 November) (PDF, 212 KB), Part 2 (PDF, 292 KB)

Lecture 10 (22 November) (PDF, 2 MB)

Lecture 11 (29 November) (PDF, 653 KB)

Lecture 12 (6 December) (PDF, 2 MB)

Lecture 13 (13 December) (PDF, 465 KB)

Lecture 14 (20 December 2022) (PDF, 311 KB)

 

This is a provisorial material list. It will be updated during the semester.

Books

- Benjamin Cardozo, 'The Nature of the Judicial Process' (New Haven, Yale)

- William Geldart, edited by DCM Yardley, 'Introduction to English Law' (Oxford Univ Press, Oxford)

- Glanville Williams, 'Learning the Law' (Sweet & Maxwell, 16th edition, ed. A.T.H. Smith)

 

Lecture 1 (20.9.2022) – Introduction, History & General Sources, (Kern Alexander)

G. Williams - The Division of the Law, Chapter 1 (PDF, 4 MB)

W. Geldart - Chapter 1 (PDF, 477 KB)

 

Lecture 2 (27.09.2022) – Case Law Method, Statutory Interpretation, Role of Judges and Juries & Criminal law (Kern Alexander)

G. Williams - The Case Law Technique, Chapter 6 (PDF, 5 MB)

G. Williams -  The Interpretation of Statutes, Chapter 7 (PDF, 3 MB)

HLA Hart - Liberty, Law, and Morality pp 6-24 (PDF, 2 MB)

Hernandez (opinion) (PDF, 59 KB)

 Rogue Lawyer: pp 1-21 (PDF, 7 MB), 47-84 (PDF, 11 MB) (new)

Optional:

Cardozo - The Nature of the Judicial Process, Lecture I (PDF, 638 KB) ( pp 9-50)

Cardozo - The Nature of the Judicial Process, Lecture II (PDF, 11 MB) (pp 51-97)

Cardozo - The Nature of the Judicial Process, Lecture IV (PDF, 509 KB) (pp 142-180)

 

Lecture 3 (04.10.2022) – Tort Law (Kern Alexander)

Holmes, chap 3 (PDF, 950 KB)

Holmes, chap 4 (PDF, 635 KB)

Geldart, chap 7 (PDF, 512 KB)

Handout: Accident: in Tort and beyond (PDF, 531 KB)

North Broward Hospital District vs Susan Kalitan case (Florida Supreme Court) (PDF, 306 KB)

 

Lecture 4 (11.10.2022) – History of Common Law and Law of Equity (Elisabetta Malaspina)

A. Padoa Schioppa - A European History of Law. From the Early Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century, Chapter 26 - Sixteenth-Eighteenth Century  (PDF, 155 KB)

A. Padoa Schioppa - A European History of Law. From the Early Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century, Chapter 16 - Common Law: the Formative Age (PDF, 149 KB)

Magna Carta (PDF, 147 KB)

Optional:

O. W. Holmes Jr. - The Common Law, Chapter 7 (PDF, 263 KB)

O. W. Holmes Jr. - The Common Law, Chapter 8 (PDF, 351 KB)

K. Llewellyn - The Bramble Bush, pp 81-89 (PDF, 2 MB)

 

Lecture 5 (18.10.2022) – Contract Law (Kern Alexander)

Introduction to Contract Law, Chapter 8

 

Lecture 6 (25.10.2022) – Commercial Law/Smart Contracts (Holly Hoch)

-

Optional:

Baskind, Osborne, Roach, Commercial Law, pp. 1-17

Available at Google books (click on the cover): https://books.google.ch/books?id=Zd4dDAAAQBAJ&hl=de&source=gbs_navlinks_s

 

Lecture 7 (01.11.2022) – Property Law (Elisabetta Malaspina)

W. Geldart - Chapter 5 (PDF, 2 MB)

Simon, A Slave v The State of Florida (PDF, 6 MB)

 

Lecture 8 (08.11.2022) – Wills and Trusts – Law of Succession (Elisabetta Malaspina)

W. Geldart - Chapter 2 (PDF, 1011 KB)

D. Hayton - Chapter 1 (PDF, 2 MB)

Additional Chapter: Intro to trusts (PDF, 329 KB)

Additional reading: Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on Their Recognition (PDF, 823 KB)

 

Lecture 9 (15.11.2022) – International Law (Kern Alexander & Elisabetta Malaspina)

E Denza, ‘The Relationship Between International and National Law’ (‘The USA’ and ‘The UK’) pp. 393-409, in International Law (5th ed.) Malcolm D Evans (ed.) (PDF, 10 MB)

UKSC Judgment (2017) (PDF, 675 KB)

 

Lecture 10 (22.11.2022) – Corporate, Business and Anti-Trust Law (Holly Hoch)

'General Corporation Laws: History and Economics', David McBride (PDF, 663 KB) (2011)

- ABA, Antitrust Section, Antitrust Laws and You!, (PDF, 1 MB) 2010 (pages 8 to 22 only) (mandatory)

Optional:

Kershaw, David Company Law in Context, Chapter 1, pp 3-29 (PDF, 17 MB)

Lina Khan, Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox, 126 Yale L.J. (PDF, 761 KB)(2016)

Lecture 11 (29.11.2022) – Constitutional Law (Kern Alexander)

T. Poole - Back to the Future ? Unearthing the Theory of Common Law Constitutionalism 20p (PDF, 144 KB)

C. D. Jenkins - From Unwritten to Written: Transformation in the British Common Law Constitution 98p (PDF, 735 KB)

 

Lecture 12 (6. 12.2022) – Intellectual Property and Data Privacy (Holly Hoch)

‘World Intellectual Property Report Intellectual Property Basics: A Q&A for Students’, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) & World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); 2019. Available at https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_1056.pdf

 

Lecture 13 (13.12.2022) – Jurisprudence and Legal Philosophy (Kern Alexander)

-Hart, HLA, 'Separation of Law and Morals', 17-37 (PDF, 7 MB)

-Dworkin, Ronald, 'Law's Empire', 31-44 (PDF, 6 MB)

Optional:

Murphy/Coleman: Philosophy of Law - An Introduction to Jurisprudence: The Nature of Law (PDF, 37 MB)

 

Lecture 14 (20.12.2022) (Optional) Exam review No new readings

- Review session

- We recommend that you use this time to catch up on previous readings and review previous exams

- Note: you do not need to know any case names for the exam. You should understand the relevant principles and rules from each lecture.