Comparative Law Discussion Group
About the Group
The Comparative Law Discussion Group meets two or three times a term, over a sandwich lunch, to hear a paper or a presentation of work in progress from a speaker, either from within the Faculty or from outside. While ‘comparative law’ for this purpose is quite broadly interpreted, the subject-matter of our discussions relate mostly to private law (including its procedural and institutional aspects) and to the laws of western Europe. The group is open to all members of Faculty and graduate law students and is organised by Alexandra Braun, John Cartwright, Stefan Vogenauer and Simon Whittaker under the auspices of the Institute of European and Comparative Law.
Convenor: Jenny Dix
Senior members: Alexandra Braun John Cartwright Stefan Vogenauer Simon Whittaker
Previous Group Events
May 2012
Friday 11 May 2012
- Property, trust (fiducie) & Islamic finance
- Speaker: Dr François Barriere, Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris 2)
Oxford Law Faculty Seminar Room D (and IECL Foyer for lunch at 12.30) at 1300
February 2012
Wednesday 22 February
- Contemporary art and classic law: a challenge
- Speaker: Professor Gianmaria Ajani , University of Turin
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room D (with lunch from 12.30 in the Foyer of the IECL) at 1300
Thursday 16 February
- Love and law - romantic relationships from a comparative perspective
- Speaker: Professor Anne Roethel, Bucerius Law School, Hamburg
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room D (and IECL foyer for lunch from 12.30) at 1300
January 2012
Thursday 26 January
- Unfair Prices in Salvage Contracts in English and French Law
- Speaker: Ciara Kennefick, University of Oxford
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room D (with lunch from 12.30 in the Foyer of the IECL) at 1300
December 2011
Thursday 1 December 2011
- The Concept of Ownership - How Functional is the Functional Approach?
- Speaker: Professor Göran Millqvist, University of Stockholm
Institute of European and Comparative Law Law Board Room (with lunch at 12.30 in the foyer of the IECL) at 1300
November 2011
Thursday 3 November
- Of Islands and the Ocean: the Two Rationalities of European Private Law
- Speaker: Professor Ralf Michaels, Duke University
Institute of European and Comparative Law Law Board Room (and IECL foyer for lunch from 12.30) at 1300
October 2011
Thursday 20 October
- Peter Birks and Comparative Law
- Speaker: Professor Lionel Smith, McGill University
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room D (and IECL Foyer for lunch at 12.30) at 1300
May 2011
Wednesday 18 May
- European Contract Law: the Draft of the Expert Group and the Common Frame of Reference
- Speaker: Professor Hugh Beale, University of Warwick
Institute of European and Comparative Law Room 19 and IECL Foyer for lunch at 12.30 at 13:00
Tuesday 17 May
- England, Equity and Statute: the Curious State of Australia's Contract Law
- Speaker: Mr Justice Paul Finn, Federal Court of Australia
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room C (and IECL foyer for lunch from 12.30) at 13:00
March 2011
Thursday 3 March
- The Fundamental Change of Circumstances Doctrines
- Speaker: Professor Carlos Gómez Ligüerre, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room C (and IECL foyer for lunch from 12.30) at 13:00
February 2011
Thursday 10 February
- Secured Transactions
- Speaker: Professor Anna Veneziano
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room C (and IECL foyer for lunch from 12.30) at 12:30
January 2011
Thursday 27 January
- Causation and damages in pre-contractual liability for breaking off negotiations
- Speaker: Dr Giorgio Afferni, University of Genoa
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room C (and IECL foyer for lunch from 12.30) at 12:30
November 2010
Wednesday 24 November 2010
- Responsible Lending
- Speaker: Professor Yesim Atamer, Istanbul Bilgi University
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room C at 1230
October 2010
Thursday 21 October
- Unjustified Enrichment and Comparative Law
- Speaker: Professor Jacques du Plessis, Stellenbosch University
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room 19, St Cross Building at 1230
April 2010
Thursday 29 April
- Legal Tourism: on Civil Codes and Constitutions beyond the State
- Speaker: Professor Jan Smits, Tilburg University
Institute of European and Comparative Law IECL (Lunch from 1215) and Seminar Room C (meeting at 1245) at 1215
March 2010
Thursday 4 March
- Judicial Review of Penalty Clauses in Spanish Law: Convergence Towards Other European Laws?
- Speaker: Ignacio Marin Garcia, Pompeu Fabra University Barcelona
Oxford Law Faculty Seminar Room C (and IECL foyer for lunch from 12.30) at 1300
February 2010
Thursday 18 February
- Mandatory Rules in Contract Law - the Draft Directive on Consumer Rights
- Speaker: Professor Gerhard Wagner, University of Bonn
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room C (and IECL foyer for lunch from 12.30) at 1300
Thursday 4 February
- A Vision of Social Justice in French Private Law: Paternalism and Solidarity?
- Speaker: Dr Ruth Sefton-Green, University of Paris I
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room C (and IECL foyer for lunch from 12.30) at 1300
January 2010
Wednesday 27 January
- Legal Transplant of Undue Influence: Lost in Translation or a Working Misunderstanding?
- Speaker: Mindy Chen-Wishart, University of Oxford
Institute of European and Comparative Law Room 5 (with lunch from 12.30 in the IECL foyer) at 1300
November 2009
Friday 20 November 2009
- Breach of Contract and Liability to Third Parties in French Law: How to Break Deadlock?
- Speaker: Professor Jean-Sébastien Borghetti, University of Paris II
Institute of European and Comparative Law Seminar Room C at 12:30
October 2009
Thursday 15 October
- "Drawing a picture of the existing legal systems in all their beauty and diversity..."? Nature and purpose of the Draft Common Frame of Reference in European contract law
- Speaker: Professor Reinhard Zimmermann, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg
Institute of European and Comparative Law Institute of European and Comparative Law at 11:45
May 2009
Thursday 21 May
- Mapping the Law? Some Comparative Observations on the Taxonomy Debate
- Speaker: Martin Flohr, Institute of European and Comparative Law
Institute of European and Comparative Law IECL (Lunch) and Seminar Room C at 12:30
Thursday 7 May
- Dividing Wrongs: the Civilian Experience
- Speaker: Dr Eric Descheemaeker, University of Bristol
Institute of European and Comparative Law IECL (Lunch) and Seminar Room C at 12:30
March 2009
Friday 13 March
- Abusive Clauses: What Should Switzerland Look at in Order to be European Compatible?
- Speaker: Professor Pascal Pichonnaz, University of Fribourg
Institute of European and Comparative Law IECL and Seminar Room C at 12:30
February 2009
Thursday 12 February
- Liquidated Damages in a Comparative Perspective Particularly in Swedish and English Law
- Speaker: Professor Lars Gorton, Lund University and Stockholm School of Economics
Institute of European and Comparative Law IECL and Seminar Room C at 12:30
January 2009
Thursday 29 January
- Governmental and Non-Governmental Codifications
- Speaker: Professor Nils Jansen, University of Muenster
Institute of European and Comparative Law IECL and Seminar Room C at 12:30
November 2008
Thursday 27 November 2008
- Full Compensation Principle in European Tort Law
- Speaker: Dr Giorgio Pedrazzi, University of Brescia, Italy
Institute of European and Comparative Law Institute of European and Comparative Law (lunch) and Seminar Room C (meeting) at 12:30
Thursday 13 November
- The Reform of the Japanese Civil Code: to what extent do the common law elements survive?
- Speaker: Dr Omi Hatashin, Member of the Japanese Society of Comparative Law and a barrister of the Inner Temple
Institute of European and Comparative Law Institute of European and Comparative Law at 12:30
October 2008
Thursday 30 October
- Development of Law and Legal Development: English and Spanish mechanisms linking tort and crime since 1850
- Speaker: Matthew Dyson, Jesus College, Cambridge
Institute of European and Comparative Law Institute of European and Comparative Law (lunch) and Seminar Room C (meeting) at 12:30
