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About the Global Legal Studies Center (GLS)

Under the aegis of the Institute for Legal Studies, GLS is a joint project of the University of Wisconsin Law School and the Division of International Studies. Through this project, the Law School and International Studies work together to promote the understanding of international, transnational, and comparative legal systems, processes and regimes and disseminate this knowledge to students and constituencies on and off campus.

The Center's goal is to support research in international legal studies, organize workshops and conferences, expand connections with scholars and institutions in the U.S. and overseas, deepen links with the International Institute and other international programs on campus, and share expertise. The Center will concentrate on three areas in which UW-Madison has special strengths:

  • International economic law, including global corporate governance, transnational economic regulation, comparative antitrust and competition law, transatlantic relations, and global Internet law;
  • Development and transition, including the rule of law, law and development, comparative economic law, trade and development; and
  • Human Rights, Democracy and Governance, including comparative constitutionalism, implementing socio-economic rights and humanitarianism.

To launch this effort, GLS, in conjunction with other entities on campus, sponsored a series of events in Fall 2004 about "Law and Global Transformations." In Fall 2005, GLS hosted a week-long series on constitutional issues, including a workshop on "Constitution-building in Africa post 1989", and the Fish-Harnack Human Rights Lecture delivered by Professor Brun-Otto Bryde, Justice of the German Constitutional Court, as well as a second workshop on "Constitution-building in Comparative Perspective." Information about past and upcoming events can be found on the GLS Events page.

GLS receives ongoing support from the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) and the East Asian Legal Studies Center (EALSC), and is based at the Institute for Legal Studies.

GLS affiliated projects/groups:

Lecture series: