This 3-ECTS-credit course offers a comparative study of several national contract laws, including those of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, and Switzerland. You will analyze their foundations, recent developments, and reforms, while identifying the similarities and differences between continental legal traditions and common law.

Its primary objective is to provide you with a solid and critical understanding of contract law across different legal systems, at a time when many countries are revising or considering reforms to their national laws governing obligations and contracts.

The program also introduces you to the main European and international instruments for the harmonization of contract law, including:

• the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR);
• the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts;
• the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL);
• and various European instruments.

This leads you to reflect on a key question: How are national legal systems evolving in an increasingly internationalized legal environment?

The program goes beyond the traditional study of contract law to address issues that are currently transforming legal practices.

You will focus in particular on cross-border contractual relationships, private international law, and international civil procedure.

The program also examines the impact of sustainable development, artificial intelligence, and new technologies on contract law, particularly through issues related to AI and contracts, smart contracts, and IT contracts.

Finally, the program invites you to take a critical look at the future of European contract law and at the possibility or advisability of adopting a European Civil Code.

Through this comprehensive and critical approach, you will develop a nuanced comparative perspective and situate national contract law within a broader, constantly evolving transnational framework.

As a hybrid study abroad program, the BIP combines online learning during the fall of 2026 with in-person activities at the University of Namur from March 15 to 19, 2027. This is a unique opportunity to add an international dimension to your law studies without having to leave your university for an extended period.

This BIP program brings together the following institutions:

• University of Namur (Belgium), host university
• Comillas, Madrid (Spain)
• USC Santiago (Spain)
• University of Minho, Braga (Portugal)
• Roma Tre, Rome (Italy)
• Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan (Italy)
• Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany)
• University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (France)
• University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland)

The diversity of partners is one of the program’s greatest strengths: comparative law is practiced here with students and faculty from a variety of legal traditions.

The program is open to undergraduate and graduate law students.

Each partner university may send up to 3 to 4 students and 1 to 2 faculty members.

To participate, you must:

• have a basic or intermediate level of English (A2 or B1);
• be available to participate in both the online component and the in-person mobility component;
• be motivated by an international academic experience and the comparative study of law.

For students in Namur: Send a cover letter and resume to florence.george@unamur.be

For other students: Follow the procedure established by your college or university. 

With this Blended Intensive Program, the UNamur School of Law reaffirms its commitment to developing legally oriented programs with an international focus and to expanding opportunities for the exchange of knowledge and practices.

An academic, international, and enriching experience in the heart of Namur.