Academic Calendar 2006
(New Academic Choices)

Given the importance of bilingualism and the advantages of knowing both Canadian legal systems, The University of Western Ontario and L'Université Laval have agreed to offer students the opportunity to obtain both the common law and civil law degrees after a combined four years of study at both institutions.

The objective of the program is to offer Western and Laval students the possibility of obtaining a law degree from the institution in the other legal system. This will allow the students not only the opportunity of developing their skills in the other official language and their knowledge of the other legal system, but it will also allow them to have access to both the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Barreau du Québec.

To be eligible for the program students must (i) have completed either an LLB (Western) or an LLB (Laval) while standing in the top 50% of their year (based on the aggregate of their grades from all years), (ii) have participated in the Laval/Western Law Exchange Program during their LLB program and (iii) have demonstrated the ability to learn law in the other language.

The enrolment of any students in this program will not affect the number of students admissible into the first year of law at Western.

The student is registered at the institution he or she is attending during the fourth year.

Students must complete the following courses:
• Contracts (5 credits)
• Torts (5 credits)
• Property (5 credits)
• Civil Procedure (4 credits)

Students must also complete or have completed, either at Laval or Western, the following courses or their equivalent, as approved by the Associate Dean (Academic) at Western:

• Company Law
• Legal Ethics and Professionalism

and three of the following five courses:

• Income Taxation
• Evidence
• Administrative Law
• Public International Law
• Trusts

Students must select other courses from the range of courses offered at Western to total 29 to 31 credits for fourth year.

Students cannot select Western courses that are considered equivalent to courses they have already taken at Laval, except with the approval of the Associate Dean (Academic). A list of equivalents is available from the Office of the Associate Dean (Academic).

Students must satisfy Western’s written work requirement. This requirement can be satisfied by written work done at Laval.

Students must complete the following courses:

• Obligations conventionelles (DRT-11385)
• Theorie generale des biens (DRT-11390)
• Droit des personnes (DRT-11391)
• Obligations legales (DRT-11386)
• Judiciaire I (DRT-11389)
• Execution and extinction des contrats (DRT-11399)
• Droit commercial (DRT-11410)
• Droit du travail (DRT-11401) (unless a Laval equivalent has been or is taken)

Students must also complete one course in each of the three blocks (critical, methodology and international). Foundations of Canadian Law and Legal Ethics and Professionalism collectively satisfy the requirement of the critical block and Legal Research, Writing and Advocacy satisfies the methodological component.

The following optional courses are suggested:

• Suretes immobilieres et faillite (DRT-18246)
• Vente et louage (DRT-11415)
• Droit de la famille (DRT-15009)
• Droit judiciaire II (DRT-11402)

Students must select other courses from the optional curriculum to complete a total of 42 credits at Laval, including the 12 credits completed during their Laval Exchange term. The optional courses selected cannot be equivalent to the ones completed at Western. A list of equivalents is available from the Office of the Associate Dean (Academic).

Western students at Laval must follow the regular schedules and methods of examination of that Faculty. They may write examinations and papers in English.

Laval students at Western must follow the regular schedules and methods of examination of that Faculty. A student whose first language is not English may be given extra time to write examinations, and the length of the extra time will be determined by the Associate Dean (Academic).