Cornell-Paris 1 Summer Institute

Application for Summer 2024 (Click Here)

Applications must be submitted by April 1, 2024. 

To successfully apply to the Program, you must:

• Complete the application
• Pay the nonrefundable Application Fee (US$150)
• Submit a current Résumé/CV
• Submit a Letter of Good Standing or equivalent:
  • Current Students
    • U.S. students: This is an official letter that should come from an Academic Advisor, Dean, Director, or other Chief Student Affairs Officer, indicating that you are a student in good standing for academics affairs.
    • International students: If your institution does not provide an official Letter of Good Standing as described above, please provide an equivalent letter from an Advisor, Dean, Student Affairs Officer, or Registrar representative confirming that you are in good academic standing, i.e. progressing successfully through your coursework without any academic probation.
  • “In-between” graduates (students who have received their Bachelor’s degree and are considering further education related to law)
    • Please provide your academic transcripts from your undergraduate education. We are looking for evidence of consistent academic performance of a high quality.
  • Attorneys, academics, practitioners, and other professionals: Please provide a letter of recommendation from your employer.

Please note:

The files names for all documents uploaded in our application portal should only contain letters and numbers (no spaces). The system will reject file names with special characters.

All application materials should be submitted in English. If materials are submitted with another language, please provide a certified translated copy.

If you would like to make changes to your application after you have submitted it, please contact us at paris.law@cornell.edu.

The Cornell-Paris 1 Summer Institute, which is open to both United States and international applicants, is a unique academic experience that will expand your understanding of a special area of law. The program emphasizes the study of international law and institutions, as well as U.S. and other legal systems in a comparative context. The program also provides a unique opportunity for career advancement, personal growth and development, and networking on a global level.

Students attend classes at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, first in the Panthéon building and then the Lourcine Centre, near the beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg and in the vibrant Quartier Latin, the Paris home of university students for almost a thousand years.

Each year’s program sponsors a private guided tour. In the past, students have visited the Palais de Justice (the site of France’s highest court in the ordinary court system), the Conseil d’État (the “supreme court” in the French administrative court system), the French National Assembly, the French Senate, and the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration in Paris.

The Cornell-Paris 1 Summer Institute is open to:

• J.D. students and non-U.S. law Students who have completed at least one year of law studies and are in good standing
• Students preparing to study for an LL.M. degree in the United States
• Graduate students in good academic standing who demonstrate an interest in the law
• Attorneys who have been licensed or admitted by the appropriate professional entity in their respective home countries
• Academics, practitioners, and other professionals seeking knowledge of American, international, and comparative law
• “In-between” graduates – former students who have received their Bachelor’s degree and are considering further graduate education related to law

Junior and senior undergraduate students are welcome to apply through this portal with our partners in Cornell’s Office of Global Learning.

If you feel that you don’t fall into the above categories but are still interested in the program, please reach out to paris.law@cornell.edu to discuss if the program is an option for you.

Are you interested in the Cornell-Paris 1 Summer Institute but can’t participate in this year’s program?

Fill out the info at the survey linked here, and we will notify you once the application is up for the next cycle!

• The program takes place over two weeks, from July 1st to July 12th, 2024.
• Programming will occur Monday through Friday, with in-person classes in Paris.
• There is no programming on the weekends (July 6-7). These days are free to students.
• Your daily schedule will vary depending on your course selection and how many credits you enroll in.
• Mandatory Orientation and Court Visits: July 1 and 2
• Classes held: July 3, 4,5,8,9,10 &11.
• Exams: July 12

• The classes are
  • taught entirely by Cornell Law School Faculty.
  • conducted in English. [thus, Cornell and Paris 1 do not offer French language classes as a part of the program.]
  • taught on Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne campuses in Paris. Our programming take place at the Pantheon Building.
• The students
  • Historically this program has comprised students from all over the world.
  • Your fellow students may be a mix of pre-Law, J.D., and LL.M. students (or other non-Law graduate students seeking specialized knowledge in the subject area) as well as current professionals and academics.
  • While every year is unique and a class size can’t be guaranteed, in 2023 each of our classes typically had an enrollment of about 20-30 students.

• Each course carries 1 credit (except for the mandatory not-for-credit orientation lecture taught by Professor Lasser [Introduction to the Laws of Europe]).
• Each of the for-credit courses meet 7 times over the program’s 7 class days (see Program Schedule section above for more information).
• Each class meeting will be 90 minutes in duration.
• Cumulatively, each for-credit course will have 630 minutes of class time (90 minutes x 7 days).
• There will be 120 minutes of mandatory court visits per class.

International students: If you would like to determine credit equivalence, please reach out to your home institution’s Registrar’s Office.

The following courses are confirmed for the Summer 2024 program.

Introduction to the Laws of Europe (Required Orientation Lectures) (Non-credit, mandatory) – Taught by Professor Mitchel Lasser:

These lectures examine the origins and development of the national legal systems of Europe, viewed in relation to their common law equivalents. They also present the key features of the European Union and of the European Court of Human Rights.  These lectures do not carry separate credit, but attendance by all enrolled students is required, as part of the regular courses.

Comparative Legal Studies (1 credit) – Taught by Professor Mitchel Lasser:

This course introduces students to the study of foreign legal systems. It will provide a broad overview of the institutional and conceptual organization of “civil law” legal systems, comparing them to their “common law” equivalents in the United States.  Substantively, the course will focus on the different approaches to private law and procedure, criminal procedure, administrative law and constitutional law that characterize most contemporary European civil law jurisdictions.  Methodologically, the course will teach the most important approaches for engaging in comparative legal analysis, so that students will be in a position to practice and critique them effectively.

Comparative Death Penalty Law (1 credit) – Taught by Professor Sheri Johnson:

The death penalty is the harshest manifestation of the criminal law. Over time, its use has diminished, both with respect to the nation states that employ it, and with respect to the crimes for which it is available. This course will survey modern uses of the death penalty, contrasting legal systems that have abolished it with those that have attempted to modernize and improve it. Because judicial opinions have elaborated  American death penalty law to a much greater extent than has been the case in other retentionist countries, most (but not all) of the cases students will read are those from the United States.  Opinions from those cases will be evaluated to determine the extent to which objections regarding the death penalty are better answered by those cases or by the abolition route taken in other countries, as set forth in other materials. Consideration of nations that employ extremely expansive death penalties will be more limited, but also will serve as a source of comparison.

Comparative Constitutional Law (1 credit) – Taught by Professor Elizabeth Anker:

Constitutions have long represented the bedrocks of many national legal cultures. Yet the late 20th century also witnessed what many term the globalization of the constitution, and in recent years the academic field of “comparative constitutional law” has also burgeoned. This Course examines constitutional law from the perspective of these contemporary developments. What can we learn about constitutional jurisprudence when studied comparatively? How has the writing of constitutions in the global South and in regions like Eastern Europe impacted the evolution of that form? And how should we understand recent efforts to craft supranational constitutions (such as the breakdown of the movement for a formal European constitution) in relation to the constitution’s much longer legal and political history? How should one approach certain charged debates within constitutional jurisprudence, such as freedom of speech and abortion rights?  What factors can undermine a given constitution’s legitimacy?

9:00 am – 10:30 am:  Comparative Death Penalty Law (Johnson) (1 cr.)

10:45 am -12:15 pm:   Comparative Law (Lasser) (1 cr.)

1:15 pm – 2:45 pm:   Comparative Constitutional Law (Anker) (1cr)

Application Fee (non-refundable): $150

Course fees: $1350 per credit

• 2 credits – $2700

Students must enroll in at least 2 credits..

Program fees only cover tuition.

Travel-related expenses such as housing, transportation to and from Paris, and meals are the responsibility of the student.

Cornell students should apply for loans through financialaid@cornell.edu

Unfortunately, Cornell cannot provide financial aid to non-Cornell students.

• Students at other American law schools should consult the financial aid office at their own school. If a financial consortium agreement is required, financial aid officers are welcome to consult Cornell Law School’s Financial Aid Office for guidance.
• Non-American participants are encouraged to apply to foundations and other sources of funding in their home countries for scholarship.

Students are required to provide their own health insurance. The Institute is not responsible for medical or dental expenses incurred by the students during the operation of the program. Be sure to include health insurance information on the application.

Cornell Law School complies with the “Cancellation, Change, or Termination of Programs” as set forth in the American Bar Association’s Criteria for Approval of Foreign Summer Programs.

60 Days:  If a student provides at least 60 days notice from the program start date for withdrawing from the program; they will receive a full refund.

30 Days: If a student provides at least 30 days notice from the program start date for withdrawing from the program; they will receive a partial refund.

If a student does not provide at least 30 days notice from the program start date for withdrawing from the program; no refund will be provided.