POLI 391 H01 28754

SocBehavSci

May be repeated once as topics change. CL: 2020.

Notes:

This course provides an introduction to judiciaries around the world. It is targeted at students who are interested in learning about courts as political institutions: how they are designed in a variety of domestic settings, how they interact with other political institutions such as the executive and the legislature, and how supranational courts are increasingly important. The course begins by asking “why study courts?” and offers a brief overview of the American judicial system, historically the exception rather than the rule. It then tackles a central question of law and politics: why do self-interested political actors ever allow independent courts to check their prerogatives? Examining this question in democracies and dictatorships around the world, the course then concludes by shifting focus to the whys and hows of powerful supranational courts like the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.Counts for Poli Sci and International Studies. POLI 101 isn't technically a pre-requisite, but professor presumes that students have the general knowledge of models/concepts covered in POLI 101.