Law and Development

Course of studies: Master of Law 

Vvz No. 4590

Dates:  5th – 28th May 2026 (Tuesdays and Thursdays)

Lecturer: Prof. Katharina Pistor (Columbia) 

Time: Tuesday and Thursday, 16:15 - 18:00 o'clock

Location on Tuesday: RAA-G-15 

Location on Thursday: KOL-F-109 

The class will be held in English and the examination will be in English as well. 

Students are asked to join the OLAT Course to follow updates. 

The syllabus and further information about the class design can be downloaded here (PDF, 137 KB).

Law is widely thought of as a key ingredient, if not a prerequisite to economic development. “Good institutions lead to good economic outcome” is how the World Bank put it in one of its reports. In this rendering, economic development means growth, measured typically by GNP or GDP – the gross domestic product or the gross national product (the latter adding what national might have produced abroad).

The aim of the class is to enable students to develop a critical understanding of how law is deployed for different and at times conflicting aims; for the conditions that make law an effective mode of governing social relations; and for the many ways in which aspects of the law are captured by some and repurposed to advance their interests often at the expense of others.

The examination will take place on Friday, 29th May 2026, from 14:00 - 16:00 o'clock. 

It will be a written exam, graded pass/fail. 

The exam will be a proctored exam. The exam will count for ¾ of your grade. Oral participation will count for ¼ of your grade.