Latin American Law

• Semester: Spring 2026
• Course ID: 396W
• Credit Hours: 3
• Unique: 29954

Description

This course provides students with a foundational understanding of Latin American legal traditions. It is designed for those who may encounter Latin American law in their professional paths as lawyers, international civil servants, business executives, or diplomats, among others. For too long, the dominant perception from north of the Rio Grande has been that Latin American legal institutions are, if not wholly irrelevant, at least extremely weak. Such conventional wisdom often fails to distinguish among countries and overlooks significant recent developments in many of them. The course pursues three objectives: (1) to provide future U.S.-based practitioners with a realistic, historically and politically informed perspective on Latin American legal systems; (2) to offer future Latin American practitioners a comparative framework through which to view their own legal systems; and (3) to give any interested student a solid grounding in contemporary legal developments in the region. Rather than attempting to cover every substantive legal area, the course introduces the overarching approaches and defining characteristics of Latin American law. Students will be introduced to civil law regimes, recognizing that common law education alone is insufficient to grasp the complexities of Latin American legal systems. This perspective is particularly relevant given the challenges faced by many American corporations and investors when navigating domestic legal risks without expert counsel. The course also emphasizes the importance of effective communication with Latin American peers. To achieve these goals, topics will include the civil law tradition in Latin America, constitutional law, human rights, civil and commercial codes, remedies in civil law, criminal law, civil and criminal procedure, and business law. The course will use Oquendo, Latin American Law, 3d ed. (Foundation Press 2017), complemented by additional reading materials.