This seminar provides University of Wisconsin students with a unique opportunity to learn about European and German constitutional law from two of Europe’s most renowned public-law scholars, Professor Michaela Hailbronner and Professor Thilo Marauhn. The course will look at European public law and the constitutional system in the Federal Republic of Germany. Throughout the course, we will be thinking about the material with a comparative lens which will help us better understand U.S. constitutional law. The course will have three sections: (1) In the first three weeks, Professor Marauhn will lead the course as we learn about the history, politics, and legal structure of European public law. (2) In the next three weeks, Professor Hailbronner will lead the course as we focus on the German “Basic Law” and look at how the German Constitutional Court has approached several issues, including same-sex marriage and abortion. [All readings are in English.] (3) For the remainder of the course, students will research and write a major research paper on a comparative constitutional law topic of their choice, working with Professor Desai.

This course meets the first seven weeks of the term only.