General provisions

Determined on April 29, 2005 by the Teaching Committee of the Faculty of Law, Uppsala University, by virtue of Chapter 2 Section 6 of the Statute of Higher Education (högskolelagen) and Chapter 6 Section 7 of the Decree for Higher Education (högskoleförordningen). Enters into force May 1, 2005.

The course comprises 10 Swedish points or 15 ECTS credits and is an independent course. The course is open only to foreign students, for example within the framework of the ERASMUS-programme. The course is given in English.

Entry requirements

The course is open only to foreign students, for example within the framework of the ERASMUS-programme.

Aims

Main goal

The aim of the course is to introduce foreign students to the main features of Swedish law. The teaching will focus on aspects of Swedish law and the Swedish legal system that are of particular interest from a comparative point of view. The ambition is that the knowledge of Swedish law will make the students pose new questions and enhance the understanding of the student's native legal system.

After finishing this course the students should have

- Summary knowledge of the history and construction of the Swedish legal system and of the sources of Swedish law,

- Summary knowledge of constitutional law in general,

- Basic knowledge of fundamental constitutional principles,

- Summary knowledge of medical law,

- Basic knowledge of the construction of the criminal law system,

- Basic skills in contract law and torts,

- Summary knowledge in consumer law,

- Summary knowledge of the Swedish litigation system,

- Basic understanding of family law.

Content

The course focuses on the basic tenets of Swedish legal culture, that is to say legal philosophy, constitutional law, administrative law, social security law, criminal law, private law, procedural law, family law and labour law.

Instruction

The teaching consists of lectures and seminars. Most lectures will be followed up with a seminar. The seminar aims to provide the students with a deeper understanding of the relevant legal area. The teaching in the form of seminars is based on the technique of problem based learning, which means that the students are divided into tutorial groups (4-5 in each group). The tutorial groups are expected to prepare the seminar questions in advance. At the actual seminar the students are expected to participate actively in the discussion. One or several seminars may take the form of moot courts.

Assessment

Besides passing the exam the students must participate in at least 75 per cent of the teaching, participate actively in the seminars, compose an essay and orally defend their essays.

All the compulsory phases of the course must be fulfiled in order to sit the exam. A written exam takes place at the end of the course. The essay, written and submitted during the course and the oral defence will be weighed into the result. A re-take exam will be held if necessary. Students are allowed to bring to the exam statutes, course literature, material handed out during the course and their own handwritten notes. The grades given are Fail, U, and the passing grades are, B, Pass, Ba, pass with credit, AB, pass with distinction.