{"id":6455,"date":"2019-11-22T15:07:49","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T14:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uchceu.es\/derecho\/?p=6455"},"modified":"2020-09-16T16:00:06","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T14:00:06","slug":"coil-an-international-experience-in-comparative-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uchceu.es\/derecho\/en\/coil-an-international-experience-in-comparative-law\/","title":{"rendered":"COIL: an international experience in comparative law"},"content":{"rendered":"

This interview was to be all about out the COIL module<\/strong><\/a> for Law, but we came away from it having learnt about much more than we were expecting. This included teaching innovation projects, student-produced videos aimed at raising awareness about violence suffered by women, and new technology transforming law work. The lecturer Lorena Melchor<\/strong> talked to us about a whole range of different initiatives which reflect her teaching style: friendly, open-minded, and, above all, focused on transmitting values.<\/p>\n

These values include internationalization, social responsibility and teamwork \u2013 common currency at the Faculty. It may well be worth keeping an eye out for the careers and future projects of her students, who study Law and other degrees.<\/p>\n

But, for the moment, let\u2019s concentrate on COIL and its use in comparative law \u2013 the next step for the internationalization of the Law degree.<\/p>\n

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Lorena Melchor lectures on various degree programmes at CEU Valencia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Lorena, can you give us a basic idea of what comparative law is? In what year do students work on this, what are the objectives and what can students take from it?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Comparative law can be defined as a discipline or technique with which we can compare the solutions that different legal systems adopt for the same problem. In other words, it\u2019s about considering how a particular country deals with and seeks to resolve a problem through the law. In this way, comparative law enables us to see the differences and similarities between different legal systems.<\/p>\n

Regarding our objectives, it\u2019s a clear opportunity for students to expand their legal knowledge. It enables them to enhance their knowledge of Spanish law and to learn about the law in other parts of the world. By doing that, they can identify what the strengths and weakness are of those same legal systems. It also helps them to gain greater knowledge of jurisprudence<\/strong>, as this is a way in which one can become acquainted with international legal concepts and terminology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe internationalization of the Law degree is essential as we\u2019re gradually moving towards a situation in which we need coordinated global actions and solutions.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Finally, we mustn\u2019t forget that the comparative law approach is used by legislators when they need to seek out solutions for new situations. It\u2019s about looking at how they do things elsewhere first, so that one can start legislating here afterwards. In short, it\u2019s a way of looking at things which can benefit students in many ways.<\/p>\n

Why did you choose a comparative law case as the first implementation of a COIL project for this degree?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The module forms part of a practical training course called Pr\u00e1cticas Integradas<\/strong><\/a>, which is taught in the fourth year of the degree in Law. By this stage, after years on the degree, we know that the students already have in-depth knowledge in a number of areas. And so the course is about the practical resolution of cases in all areas of law: tax law, criminal law, administrative law, etc.<\/p>\n

For the COIL module, we want students to resolve a comparative law case, specifically in the administrative area. It\u2019s particularly interesting because COIL enables us to get in touch with law students in other countries in order to examine what legislation is applicable there in such a case. The case to be considered concerns state liability<\/strong>, and we\u2019re going to consider this issue through the prisms of the Spanish and Ecuadorian legal systems.<\/p>\n

Spain, Ecuador and Comparative Law<\/strong><\/h3>\n
So, the partner you\u2019ve chosen for this initiative is a university in Ecuador, Universidad del Azuay<\/a>. Was there any prior link between the universities or does the relationship only exist because of this project?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

This COIL project is what has enabled us to create this partnership with them. As a lawyer, I specialize in the area of administrative law and last year I taught the course Administraciones P\u00fablicas (\u201cgovernment agencies<\/strong>\u201d) on the Bachelor\u2019s Degree in Political Science \/ International Relations<\/strong><\/a>. There were a lot of Erasmus+ students on that course who came from Latin America, and they\u2019re the ones I spoke to first. I asked them whether they knew anyone at their universities who might be interested in taking part in this educational initiative. So, in the case of Universidad del Azuay, everything has happened because of the link with an Erasmus+ student.<\/p>\n

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The Universidad del Azuay is our university\u2019s partner for the COIL for Law project<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
What does the COIL module involve? How will the students work together, in general?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The other lecturer and I have prepared a real and practical case from Ecuador. The Ecuadorian legal system has its own legal solution, which is different from what the solution would be here. What we want is to create mixed teams of students from both universities and for them to work together on resolving the case. By doing that, we\u2019ll be able to see what the similarities and differences are between the two countries and think about which solution is better, and which provides greater protection for citizens and for government agencies.<\/p>\n