https://at-ceu.studyguide.timeedit.net/modules/LEGS5986?type=COREThe aim of this course is to introduce students to the laws regulating contracts and torts in civil law jurisdictions, with a particular focus on France and Germany. The framework set in this course will help students to efficiently follow other specialized courses offered in the course of their LL.M. program. In order to set the stage for future discussion, we will begin by providing some basic context of civil law. Then we will enter the realm of contracts. After introducing the main principles of contract law (freedom of contract, binding force, informality and fairness), the course will turn to a comparative analysis of the civil and common law systems in context of contract law. It will then proceed to the basic requirements for contract formation: (1) offer and acceptance, (2) intention to create legal relations, (3) legal capacity of the parties and (4) contract formalities. In order to better understand how offer and acceptance operate in different civil law jurisdictions, we will spend some time analysing real and hypothetical cases focusing on crucial characteristics of offer and acceptance. Special attention will be dedicated to the French notion of cause, which will be compared with the common law concept of consideration. We will then turn our attention to contract interpretation and gap filling. This topic will be analysed together with the principle of good faith - a concept perceived differently in civil and common law jurisdictions. The course will then move to the defects of consent traditionally accepted in civil law countries: mistake, fraud and threat. Along the way, the course will analyse the concept of prohibited contracts, focusing on certain timely issues discussed in recent cases (such as for example, cases on surrogate motherhood). We will then examine the remedies available to one party when the other fails to comply with its contractual obligation. The class will focus on specific performance - a routine remedy in civil law jurisdictions, used only exceptionally in common law. Finally, we will conclude the first part of the course with supervening events, thereby focusing on force majeure in French law and impossibility in German law. Along the way, for the sake of comparison, the doctrine of frustration under the English law will be briefly examined. The second part of the course will start with an introduction to tort law in civil law tradition, explaining the concept of tort law, its historical background and policy considerations. It will then introduce the systems of liability in France and Germany, together with a rather brief comparison with common law torts. We will then explore two bases for fault liability: intention and negligence. The topic of negligence will naturally occupy most of our attention. The focus will be on German and French law, while common law approach will be merely briefly mentioned along the way. We will then move to the role of statutory rules in establishing liability in tort law systems, with a particular focus on German and French law solutions. The class will then discuss the strict liability (liability without fault), after which we will move to the notion of causation - a topic that will allow us to discuss some interesting and intriguing cases. Finally, the last session will explore the important features of the laws on damages.