Tom Ginsburg : Courses and Seminars
Administrative Law
LAWS 46101
This course examines the structure of the administrative state, its relations to the other branches of government and private citizens, and the constitutional, statutory, and common law rules that govern the substance and procedure of administration action and inaction. The course focuses on some constitutional topics, including the non-delegation doctrine, presidential control over administrative agencies, and the delegation of adjudicative authority to non-Article III officers. Substantial attention is given to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and other statutory requirements for lawful agency action. Covered topics include the proper role of agencies in interpreting statutory and regulatory law; judicial review of agency decisions; public participation in agency rulemaking; and non-traditional approaches to regulation, including negotiation and privatization. A central theme of the course is how the law manages the tension between rule of law values (e.g., procedural regularity, accountability, and substantive limits on arbitrary action) and the desire for flexible, effective administrative governance.
The student's grade is based on a final examination.
Winter 2012
Tom Ginsburg
Comparative Legal Institutions
LAWS 50101
This course is designed to examine a range of legal institutions from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective. It is not a traditional course in comparative law, in that it focuses not so much on particular rules of substantive law but on the structure of different legal systems and the consequences of those structural differences for law and society, especially for economic development. Readings will be drawn from legal and social science literature, including works from anthropology, economics, political science and sociology. The course will explicitly cover non-Western legal traditions to an extent not found in conventional comparative law courses. The course will conclude with reflections on what a comparative perspective tells us about American legal institutions.
Course grades will be given on the basis of a take-home written exam, with a small component for class participation. There is a paper option for 2L, 3L and LLMs, but it is limited for 1L students.
Spring 2012
Tom Ginsburg
Greenberg Seminar: Wine and the Law
LAWS 95902
This seminar will consider the law and politics of wine production and regulation in the US and elsewhere. There will be an empirical research component.
Graded Pass/Fail.
Autumn meeting will be 10/18 and 11/7.
Autumn 2011
Tom Ginsburg, Jonathan Masur
International Investment Arbitration
LAWS 96403
This seminar will cover the law and policy of international investment arbitration, a regime of growing importance. It will cover major doctrinal issues as well as social science readings on the origins and consequences of the arbitration regime for development, international relations, and law.
Spring 2012
Tom Ginsburg
