Academic Policies and Course Offerings

Academic Policies

The program is open to students who have completed all first-year day courses and who are in good academic standing at an ABA-accredited law school.(Hofstra students must have at least 2.2 GPA.)

All students will take a one-credit course and a two-credit course with no prerequisites for a total of three credits. There will also be required field trips to local legal institutions.

Hofstra Law School grading standards apply, and Hofstra transcripts will be distributed. Acceptance of credits earned during the program is subject to the determination of your home school.

Grades are based on an examination in each course. The grading policy in the program is the same as in the regular course of study at Hofstra Law School. The grade scale is: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D and F.

If you attend a law school other than Hofstra, you must submit a letter from your law school verifying that you meet the above requirements.

The Max Planck Institute is accessible to students with disabilities; however, some aspects of the program may not be accessible to people with certain disabilities.

Course Offerings

Summer Program in Freiburg 2009

Comparative Punishment: From the Death Penalty to Mass Incarceration (1 credit)

Nora V. Demleitner, Dean and Professor of Law, Hofstra Law School

Eric M. Freedman, Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law, Hofstra Law School

Comparative Punishment introduces you to the way in which different societies justify the imposition of criminal justice sanctions, and the way in which the type of sanctions and their application differs. The course will highlight major differences between the U.S. and the European approaches, with a special emphasis on the death penalty and prison sanctions.

International Financial Crimes (2 credits)

J. Scott Colesanti, Assistant Professor, Hofstra Law School

The class will focus on the criminal prosecution of insider trading and securities fraud in the United States and in Europe, in general, and in Germany, in particular. In the main, the class seeks to explore the victims and benefactors of successful prosecution of these crimes (as well as the comparative obstacles to such prosecution). Documents ranging from Securities and Exchange Commission speeches to Supreme Court cases to European Union Directives will be studied. The definitions, perpetrators, subtleties, and contours of the crimes will be examined. Questions asked shall focus on topics ranging from ideal policy (e.g., "Should insider trading be outlawed?") to the effect of successful prosecution on markets (e.g., "Do shareholders lose when management goes to jail?").