About the Institute

The Institute for Transnational law was established by Texas Law to enhance the teaching of international and comparative law, to support research into international and comparative law, to build international contacts for the law school, and to increase student exchanges between Texas Law and elite foreign law schools.

Mission and Vision

Texas Law’s Institute for Transnational Law serves as a focal point for excellence in the fields of international and comparative law at The University of Texas at Austin. The Institute oversees and organizes various programs designed around the belief that students and faculty at Texas Law benefit greatly from the exchange of people and ideas. Therefore, the Institute seeks to build bridges between Texas Law and people and institutions around the world, help students build international networks, promote joint research projects on topics of international and comparative law, support emerging scholars’ research, and bring together J.D. students interested in learning about transnational law with visiting students and scholars.

Goals

Training students to become professors, judges, and lawyers with proficiency and experience in international and comparative law through facilitating foreign students’ pursuit of a master’s degree in international law. Through the generous support of the MD Anderson Foundation, the Institute has a long-standing record of supporting foreign judges in their pursuit of a master’s degree in law from the University of Texas. The program continues to fund a full scholarship and living expenses of a German judge for the Texas Law LL.M. Program each year. The Institute looks forward to extending this program in the future to support judges and legal scholars from Latin America in conjunction with the University of Texas Latin American Initiative, as well as excellent judges from around the world.

Facilitating student, scholar, and professorial exchanges. The Institute works in conjunction with Texas Law’s Department of Graduate & International Programs to create robust exchange partnerships with leading universities around the world. These partnerships pave the way for exchange of students and faculty, as well as promote joint research programs. In addition, the Institute has a long-standing professorial exchange program that allows Texas Law professors short term placement in foreign law schools, as well as making it possible for renowned professors from around the world to visit and teach at Texas Law.

Preparing and supporting Texas Law students in fellowships abroad and in public service with a transnational focus. The Institute has launched a new program expanding its vital work of transnational legal education by creating a fellowship program for distinguished recent Texas Law J.D. graduates. This program, with funding from of the MD Anderson Foundation, makes it possible for recent graduates to gain valuable work experience abroad in the international legal, business, and public service arenas. These MD Anderson Fellows are part of an elite group of legal professionals.

Enhancing transnational legal education for J.D. students at Texas Law. The various projects of the Institute contribute to the creation of a “global campus” at Texas Law, which enhances the transnational legal education of all students, extending valuable knowledge of international and comparative law to students who do not have the opportunity to study or work abroad.

Hosting Foreign Law Translations. The Foreign Law Translations website is a resource for French, German, Austrian, and Israeli legal materials in the fields of constitutional, administrative, contract and tort law. The English translations of decisions from Germany and France include cases from the Reichsgericht, the Bundesverfassungsgericht, the Bundesgerichtshof, the Conseil Constitutionnel, the Conseil d’Etat, and the Cour de Cassation. The project was funded in part by the MD Anderson Foundation.