Course Catalog

3 Unit(s)

This course begins with an introduction to the main multilateral and international rules, types of harmonization instruments, regimes and organizations governing international business transactions. By understanding the principles of international law and why state parties establish regimes and intergovernmental organizations, students will gain a thorough understating of them and the significance of their role in shaping and determining the flow of international business and investment globally. Students will learn how these regimes and organizations govern relations among businesses and function; challenges faced in the harmonization process (e.g., negotiations, consensus, costs, implementation, building capacity); decision-making processes and their consequences, and how disputes are resolved. The course also will introduce students to international commercial contract practice by examining each factor influencing contract formation, identifying common legal problems that arise in the negotiation of international contracts, and proposed solutions. Special attention will be given to the UNIDROIT Principles on International Commercial Contracts and Vienna Convention on International Sales of Goods. Finally, the course will examine fundamentals of the law regulating international secured finance, exploring the range of issues that practitioners of international business law encounter, as well as selected international instruments at regional, interregional, and multilateral levels.