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IN CLASS EXERCISE

FOREIGN LAW

You are a staff attorney with Senator Breaux's office. Your assignment is to find sources of information in English on line and in print and summarize it for Senator Breaux on the following topics for the country you have been assigned. Evaluate the information on each of the following:

1. Source of information 2. Credibility of information 3. Currency of information 4. Availability of information (i.e. where one can read this information. Please list as many formats as you can.)

Choose your country from this list. (No more than two students per country, please. If you are a native of one of these countries, please do not choose that country.)

Argentina  Australia  Costa Rica  Egypt  Germany  Great Britain and Northern Ireland  Hungary  India  Japan  Mexico

New Zealand  People's Republic of China  Poland  Portugal  Republic of Ireland  Russia  South Africa  Spain  Sweden

Switzerland Turkey

Other countries with permission of the instructor.

A. The legal system.

B. The political system.

C. Sources of law. What are they? How often updated? Available only in the vernacular? Available in English? How reliable is the English translation? Does the LSU Law Library have the sources of law in the vernacular? In English?

D. Any trade unions or other international organizations to which the country belongs.

E.Current legal, political, economic and social issues facing the country. (Use sources other than LEXIS, WESTLAW or the Internet for the latter three categories, please). Create a short bibliography of books and articles on these topics and email it to the class.

F. History of U.S. relations with this country.

G. Any other information of note.

H. A major newspaper in English that carries current news on this country.

I. Regulation of attorneys. How licensed. How educated. To what organization does an attorney report? What organization or agency has jurisdiction over attorney matters?

Remember to use all the sources you have learned about this semester including online catalogs, books (including looseleafs), journals, periodical and abstract indexes, the Internet, LEXIS and WESTLAW.

Be prepared to discuss your findings at the end of class.