Comparative & International Health Law (
Culhane) (1 credit)
This course examines many of the health-related legal and policy issues common to all cultures, with a special emphasis on questions relating to the organization and regulation of the health system, healthcare providers and the allocation of healthcare resources. Students will visit the World Health Organization in Geneva for a day of lectures by WHO staff and tour of the campus.
Topics in Global Health: Infectious and Chronic Diseases (
Culhane) (1 credit)
Infectious diseases create burdens on health, on social and legal structures, and on local, regional, national and international economies. But much of the burden is in principle preventable, since prevention and treatment are available for the major diseases that cripple and kill populations. This course will examine several of the most intractable diseases (including HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis), and will undertake an analysis of the barriers to reducing the burden these diseases create. These include a lack of education, expense of drugs, poor or non-existent infrastructure, and government corruption.
But public health has in recent years widened its scope to take the problem of chronic diseases and injuries, as well as their many complex causes. Tobacco-related morbidity and mortality, for example, is arguably the greatest public health problem on a global level. Moreover, a modern view of public health is also concerned with the social and economic conditions that lead to compromises to health and safety, including domestic violence, alcohol abuse, food insecurity (and, at the other end of the spectrum, obesity). We will also consider the on-going debate over public health’s legitimate reach.
Students will be required to submit two short (one- to two-page papers) on assigned readings, which will then be discussed with the class. There will also be an in-class final examination at the conclusion of the course.
International Litigation and Arbitration (
Bonami) (1 credit)
International business transactions, in particular commercial contract, often give rise to complicated disputes with transnational implications. This course will analyze the most common methods of dispute resolution, i.e., litigation before state courts and international arbitration, and explore some of the complex legal issues they involve. In particular, we will focus on the following major areas: (1) determining jurisdiction of state courts; (2) validity and effects of choice of court and arbitration agreements; (3) avoidance of parallel proceedings (lis pendens and related actions, forum non conveniens, anti-suit injunctions, etc.) ; (4) recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions ; (5) determining the law applicable to the merits of the dispute. A comparative approach will be used, with particular emphasis on U.S. and European Union law and on court decisions.
You can also take a look at the 2013 Lausanne Venice Options document (.pdf) to help plan your course schedule.