Borshan & His Students

University of Pittsburgh School of Law

Semester and Year: Spring 2006

Course Title: COMPARATIVE ASIAN CONTRACT LAW

Faculty Name: Visiting Professor Bor-shan Lin

E-mail: borshan@faculty.pccu.edu.tw

Telephone: 412-624-2185

Office: Room 524

	Course Description	Modern East Asia¡¦s legal systems have their origin in the grafting of European legal conventions and codes onto distinctly non-Western societal and cultural foundations. These systems, largely effective in meeting the legal needs extant in their respective jurisdictions, differ from their European and North American counterparts in ways that are both conspicuous and subtle. Contract law offers a window through which to study the mechanics of legal systems operating today in Greater China, Korea, and Japan and to compare / contrast these against one another as well as against the system of contract law currently practiced in the United States.
		This course offers a comparative legal analysis of contract law in Greater China, Korea and Japan. Students will also gain a familiarity with key differences and similarities between contract law in East Asia and the United States.
		The course will comprise two principal components. The first three lessons will introduce to students the foundation and development of modern civil and contractual codes in China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. The remainder of the semester will introduce the practical implications of contract law as practiced in these four jurisdictions through readings, discussions and case studies targeting such issues as limits on contractual freedom, contract formation, contract causa, interpretation, validity, assignment and delegation, conditions, performance requirements, remedies in cases of breach, and warranties. In addition, the degree to which international harmonization instruments (e.g., the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and the UNIDROIT Convention on International Financial Leasing) have been implemented in these jurisdictions will be addressed and discussed. Special attention will be given to key ¡§problematic¡¨ issues of contract law in each of the four jurisdictions.
	Syllabus	Including reading materials and slide show, Link to the next page.
	References
	Statutes	ROC Civil Code: General Provision
		ROC Civil Code: Obligation
		ROC Civil Code: the Rights in Rem
		PRC General Principle of Civil Law
		PRC Contract Law
		PRC Economic Contract Law
		PRC Technology Contract Law
		PRC Foreign Economic Contract Law
		PRC Guarantee Law
		Korea Civil Code
		Korea Commercial Code
		Japan Civil Code
		Japan Commercial Code
		(English version of Japan Civil Code and Commercial Code are available in Appendix 5A of Doing Business in Japan, Zentaro Kitagawa, Matthew Bender & Co. Inc., 1998)
	Links	UNILEX A collection of international caselaw and bibliography on two of the most important international instruments for the regulation of international commercial transactions.
		Collection of Civil Code
		Civil Code of Quebec English Version
		Civil Code of Philippine
		Supreme court of Korea Court decisions
		Supreme Court of Japan Judgments of the Supreme Court
		English Translations Link of Japanese Law Except Civil Code
		Law and Regulations Database of ROC English version of Taiwan Law
		French Civil Code English Version
		German Civil Code(BGB) German Version
		German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch) ¡V Excerpts, English version
		The German Civil Code Excerpt from Forrester, Goren & Ilgen
		UNIDROIT Convention on International Financial Leasing (Ottawa, 28 May 1988)
		Convention relating to a Uniform Law on the International Sale of Goods (The Hague, July 1, 1964)
	Brief History of Bor-shan Lin
	Welcome all of you raise questions or share your opinion with Borshan. Please mail to borshan@faculty.pccu.edu.tw