The aim:
1. To familiarize students with the achievements of contemporary legal cultures.
2. To analyse main features and values of contemporary legal cultures in social, historical and religious context.
3. To determine the influence of values of contemporary legal cultures on legal regulations.

Acquired knowledge:
1. Student acquires knowledge about historical evolution and social and religious conditions of development of contemporary legal cultures.
2. Student acquires knowledge about features of legal regulations in Europe, US, Canada, China, India and Islamic states, related to the values of legal cultures.
3. Student deepens his/her knowledge of sociology and political science.
4. Student is able to observe the differences between both major European legal traditions.
5. Student is able to indicate the differences between the institutions of private law and the institutions of public law, as well as the differences in the position of the individual in the two legal branches indicated.

Acquired skills:
1. When asking questions or writing e-mails to a lecturer student correctly formulates statesments in legal English.
2. When using elements of legal institutions from the past, student is able to solve simple cases requiring legal and interdisciplinary knowledge.
3. Contemplating events from the past student is able to formulate simple conclusions de lege lata and the lege ferenda.
4. Student is applying theoretical knowledge for analysing contemporary legal cultures, he/she critically selects methods of analysis and formulates his/her own opinions.
5. Student uses at least one foreign language, when learning legal terminology.

Acquired social skills:
1. During the course student notices ethical, economical and political implications of selected legal systems in the past and present.
2. On examples taken from the history student sees the effects of his/her legal, moral, social, economical and professional activities as a lawyer and man.
3. While studying contemporary legal cultures student explains social problems and their multilateral relationships with the law.

Course contents: 
1. Legal Culture in Judaism and Christianity.
2. Legal Culture in Islam and Hinduism.
3. Legal Culture in Confucianism and Animism.
4. The ancient foundations of European legal culture.
5. Models of judicial procedure.
6. Family law in contemporary legal cultures.
7. Introduction to Families of Laws and Legal Traditions.
8. Civil law as a legal culture.
9. Common law and its origins.
10. Mixed jurisdictions system – between civil law and common law.

Recommended reading: 
1. European Legal History: Sources and Institutions, O.F. Robinson, T.D. Fergus, W.M.Gordon, Oxford University Press. Oxford 2000.
2. Essentials of the English Legal System, J. Wheeler, Pearson. Harlow 2006.

Additional reading: 
1. Roman Law in European History, P. Stein, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge 1999.
2. Islamic Law: Theory and Interpretation, M. Mumisa, Amana Publications. Beltsville 2002.
3. Modern Hindu Law, P. Diwan, Allahabad Law Agency. Allahabad 1995.
4. Chinese Law and Legal Theory, M. Palmer, New York University Press. New York 1994.
5. History of the Common Law: The Development of Anglo-American Legal Institutions, J. H. Langbein, R. L. Lerner, B. P. Smith, Aspen Publishers. Aspen 2009.