Courses for Summer 2025
In addition to staple courses examining the laws of the European Union and those that regulate international trade, new courses are developed each year, especially for the Summer Law Program in Poland. The Law School’s goal is to offer students unique courses covering comparative aspects of substantive areas of law that are rarely available in the United States and are of fundamental importance to students of countries in transition, like Poland.
Courses in previous years have focused on international aspects of tax and economics regulation, human rights, arbitration, constitutional law, legal ethics, and the legal profession. In summer 2025, the program will offer four 2-credit courses: Law of the European Union, The Implications of the U.S. Supreme Court on Separation of Powers for International Business, Complex Civil Litigation in the U.S. for Global Businesses and International Investment Law.
All classes in the Summer Law Program are held at the Jagiellonian University and are conducted in English. American students must enroll for at least four, and no more than six credits. Methods of evaluation of students’ performance may vary; most of the courses have written exams, though some courses may offer take-home exams or written papers.
Schedule of Classes
Please refer to the Kraków Summer Law Program Calendar for a complete schedule of classes, exams and events.
Courses
Law of the European Union, 2 credits
Professor Marta Janina Kuklo
June 09 – 19
The Implications of the U.S. Supreme Court on Separation of Powers for International Business, 2 credits
The Honorable Judge Kyle Duncan
June 09 – June 25
Complex Civil Litigation in the U.S. for Global Businesses, 2 credits
Professor Natalie Schmidt
June 23 to July 09
International Investment Law, 2 credits
Professor Piotr Szwedo
June 23 to July 09
U.S. Students Only
Becoming an International Lawyer (BAIL), 1 credit
Monica Allston
On-line
Legal Externship, 1, 2, or 3 credits
Monica Allston
Fieldwork in Poland
NOTES:
- U.S. students must enroll in a minimum of two classroom courses.
- Students enrolled in the externship program must enroll in Law of the European Union and a minimum of one additional course. (Externships are offered to U.S. JDs for academic credit and are scheduled before and/or after the academic program. To inquire about an externship, contact Monica Allston at allston@cua.edu.)
Classroom Course Descriptions
Law of the European Union (2 credit hours)
This course provides an overview of the political and legal framework of the European Union institutions, trade relations and legal and business implications of the European process of integration. The course focuses on the creation of the European Union, the structures and processes for the development of the Union’s law, four basic freedoms or the role of the European Court of Justice. Dr. Marta Janina Kuklo
The Implications of the U.S. Supreme Court on Separation of Powers for International Business (2 credit hours)
This seminar will cover significant structural constitutional decisions from the most recent two terms of the U.S. Supreme Court. Study of these recent opinions will encompass developments in recent American jurisprudence impacting regulatory authority in the United States and potential downstream implications for the U.S. domestic and international economy and business. The course will unpack basic principles of contemporary regulatory authority in the United States as framed by constitutional principles developed and applied by the U.S. Supreme Court in major recent decisions. The course will also provide a basic theoretical framework for understanding the constitutional and statutory powers exercised by the three federal branches of the U.S. government and the interplay between American federal and state governmental frameworks through principles of federalism. The course will highlight and feature the most recent implications of U.S. Supreme Court decisions on both the vertical and horizontal balances of power among American federal and state authority and the corresponding impact on private American actors and businesses and consequently the international economy. The Honorable Judge Kyle Duncan
This course will provide students an overview of the complex litigation challenges that global companies doing business in the U.S. may likely face. After providing an overview of civil practice in the U.S. and structure of the U.S. court system, the course will turn to more advanced doctrines of procedure that arise in particularly complex civil cases. Topics include the jurisdiction of federal and state courts; venue; choice of law; complex litigation structures such as class actions and multidistrict litigation (MDL); and alternative adjudicatory forums in which international businesses litigate disputes. This will be a practice-oriented course; special emphasis will be placed on motions practice and drafting, as well as case studies in substantive areas relevant to global businesses like antitrust and mass tort. Professor Natalie Schmidt
International Investment Law (2 credit hours)
International Investment Law (2 credit hours) The course addresses a range of questions related to international investment law. This branch of international public law has already drawn special attention of legal scholars but also due to numerous arbitration proceedings worldwide, it became a field of intensive legal practice. Emphasis will be put on the specificity on Bilateral Investment Treaties as sources of international law and on case law which plays the role of clarification and creation of legal standards. Students will be also introduced to the specificity international responsibility resulting from international investment claims which is partly based on international customary law. Furthermore, we will also examine the definition of investment, definition of State and learn about standards of investment treatment (Most Favored Nation, national, fair and equitable standards). We will also study about direct and indirect expropriation; standards of compensation; principles of the settlement of investment disputes and about enforcement of arbitral awards. The course involves students’ active participation: discussions, debates, presentations, collective and individual feedback providing on their individual and/or group tasks; grade is based on class participation and/or final written examination. Dr. Piotr Szwedo
Course materials: Provided on the course website
Books, Course Materials and Library Facilities
The list of required books will made available to participants in the spring.
Students are responsible for purchasing their own books and course materials. Students will be notified of course materials that are prepared by the Columbus School of Law and made available at cost to participating American and Canadian students upon arrival in Kraków. Polish students will have access to all texts and materials used in the program.
Students will also have access to the outstanding resources of the Jagiellonian University library as well as to the specialized collection of the library of the Faculty of Law. Approximately 20 percent of the Jagiellonian’s collection of 2.8 million books and periodicals are in English. The library is open during weekday hours and a limited collection of materials suggested by the faculty will be held on reserve at a place convenient to all students.
There is limited weekday access to computer facilities, however students may bring properly insured laptop computers. Although e-mail access will be provided at Jagiellonian University, many students have found it most convenient to send and receive e-mail from one of the many Internet cafes that are open in Kraków. Memberships at these Internet cafes are inexpensive and hours of operation are significantly longer than the university’s hours.