CATALOG 2006-2007 - Syracuse University College of Law

International Law
Provides an introduction to public international
law, the system of norms, rules, institutions,
and procedures that regulate the interaction
between states and between states and
individuals, including the UN Charter. Besides
studying the basic building blocks of the
system and the forces that are leading either
to its breakdown or its transformation (or
both), students engage in a seven-week
simulation in group negotiation, research,
and drafting of multilateral treaties to resolve
some contemporary transnational problems.
Use of the World Wide Web is integrated into
the course.
International Trade Law
Intergovernmental trade regulation through
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/
World Trade Organization and regulation of
unfair trade practices under U.S. law.
Internet Law
A survey of legal issues relating to computers
and computer networks, including electronic
commerce, the protection and enforcement of
proprietary rights in software and electronic
works, privacy and security, and content regulation.
This course also explores the evidentiary
use of computer records and other emerging
issues in computer law.
Jurisprudence of Criminal Justice
Selected topics in criminal justice, such as
sentencing, capital punishment, search and
seizure, role of police, plea bargaining, and
modes of determining guilt or innocence in
light of jurisprudential reflection on goals of
criminal justice.
Jurisprudence of Human Rights
Conflicting views of the legal decision-making
process and the role of rights in that process,
impact of judicial decisions, views of social scientists,
and human rights in the international
sphere.
Labor Law
Organization and representation of employees;
union collective action; and collective
bargaining, including the administration and
enforcement of collective agreements.
Land-Use Control
This course involves an examination of basic
land use and zoning laws. Attention is paid
to a variety of zoning and regulatory tools as
well as to local laws addressing environmental
concerns. This includes basic zoning, density
controls, variances, exceptions, special uses,
exactions, inclusionary and exclusionary
zoning, and the takings issue. Focus will be on
the importance of private property rights and
the protection of those rights in the context of
public controls and regulations. The course will
examine the way in which public and private
claims to land are resolved through a mix of
market and non-market mechanisms. Irregular
course offering.
Law and Literature
The focus of this course/seminar will be the
law, the legal process, and concepts of justice
as they are treated in a number of works of
fiction as well as by lawyers in judicial opinions
and other writings. The fictional readings will
be short stories (Tolstoy, Faulkner, Glaspell,
Hawthorne, Cather, de Maupassant, Vonnegut,
etc.) and two novellas. In-depth consideration
of the materials should demonstrate to the
student the wide gamut of emotions, human
relationships, and ambiguities with which case
law frequently does not adequately deal. The
materials raise issues of morality, natural law,
divine law, mercy, the limits of advocacy, and
ethics, all of which must deeply concern any
lawyer who strives to fulfill the true object of
his or her profession.
Law and Market Economy
A basic introduction to understanding the
form and structure of legal argument in a
market context. The course will explore the
basic terms and methods of economics that
are relevant to understanding the ideas of
competition, exchange, and transfer in a
market context. Discussion of the relationship
between law and markets will focus on the
formulation of public policy. Students will
study the practical implications, for law and
legal institutions, of economic assumptions
and conceptions. The course will explore the
relationship between efficiency, externalities,
the tragedy of the commons, the Coase
theorem, transaction costs, public choice,
game theory, cost/benefit analysis, and path
dependency, among others, to create patterns
of argument capable of strategically advancing
particular substantive objectives.
Law and Principles of Business Valuation
Seminar
Business Valuation covers valuation methodology
and practices pertinent to income,
estate and gift tax purposes, ESOPs, buy/sell
agreements, etc. The income method, market
method, asset-based method, and other
methods of assessment will be studied.
Students will learn fundamentals of financial
analysis and evidentiary rules relating to
business valuation. Irregular course offering.
Law and Society Seminar
The manner in which legal systems evolve
and how they reflect the social structure,
culture, and concepts of justice of the society;
limits and prospects of effective legal action
in effectuating social policy in contemporary
American society. Irregular course offering.
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