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2023/2024

International Commerce Law

Code: 102261 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500786 Law OT 4 2

Contact

Name:
Rafael Arenas Garcia
Email:
rafael.arenas@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject. Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2023.

Teachers

Roger Canals Vaquer
Josep Suquet Capdevila

Prerequisites

There is no previous requeriment

Language: English


Objectives and Contextualisation

The objective of this course is that the students become familiarized with the specific legal problems of international business. At the end of the course they will know the basic elements of the legal regulation of international commerce and they will be able to interpret this regulation and to apply it in the most frequent situations of the international trade. This approach to international trade law will be made from a critical and integrated perspective, considering the implications that the international traffic has in different ambits (economic, politics, ethics...) and paying attention to the gender perspective.


Competences

  • Apprehending the necessary mechanisms in order to know, assess, and apply the legislative reforms as well as to follow the changes produced in a concrete subject.
  • Arguing and laying the foundation for the implementation of legal standards.
  • Demonstrating a sensible and critical reasoning: analysis, synthesis, conclusions.
  • Identifying and solving problems.
  • Identifying the underlying conflicts of interest in disputes and real cases.
  • Identifying, assessing and putting into practice changes in jurisprudence.
  • Identifying, knowing and applying the basic and general principles of the legal system.
  • Integrating the importance of Law as a regulatory system of social relations.
  • Managing bibliographic and documentary resources: databases, browsing, etc.
  • Memorising and utilising legal terminology.
  • Present information in a way that is appropriate to the type of audience.
  • Searching, interpreting and applying legal standards, arguing every case.
  • Students must be capable of demonstrating the unitary nature of the legal system and of the necessary interdisciplinary view of legal problems.
  • Students must be capable of learning autonomously and having an entrepreneurial spirit.
  • Working in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary fields.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Applying an interdisciplinary and integrated vision of the legal problems in an international environment.
  2. Assessing legislative changes and reforms in a context of plurality of systems.
  3. Assessing the underlying conflicts of interest in the legal problems proposed in an international environment.
  4. Building a legal reasoning or discourse in the field of Public International Law, Private International Law and European Union Law.
  5. Demonstrating a sensible and critical reasoning: analysis, synthesis, conclusions.
  6. Identifying and assessing the changes and evolution of jurisprudence in a context of plurality of systems.
  7. Identifying and knowing the basic contents of every stipulated speciality.
  8. Identifying and solving problems.
  9. Integrating the importance of Law as a regulatory system of social relations, and the contextualisation of the legal phenomenon in the international environment.
  10. Managing bibliographic and documentary resources: databases, browsing, etc.
  11. Memorising and using the specific terminology of Public International Law, Private International Law and European Union Law.
  12. Present information in a way that is appropriate to the type of audience.
  13. Seek out, interpret and apply legal provisions related to Public Internacional law, Private International Law and European Union Law.
  14. Students must be capable of learning autonomously and having an entrepreneurial spirit.
  15. Working in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary fields.

Content

LESSON 1

 

Meaning of International Business Law. Content and sources of trade law. International Business Law: history, evolution and current situation. International trade, international business law, international economic law, commercial law and private international law. The sources of international bussines law: international law, law of the European Union, domestic law, lex mercatoria.

 

 

 

LESSON 2

 

Intangible assets, competition law and non-contractual obligations. Intellectual property. Unfair Competition. Non-contractual liability in specific matters: products liability and damages to the environment.

 

 

 

LESSON 3

 

Companies. Incorporation of companies. Establishment of companies outside the State of incorporation. Mobility and international transformation of companies. International judicial jurisdiction in corporate matters.

 

 

 

LESSON 4

 

International contracts. Sources of regulation. Formation and content of the contract. Settlement of disputes before state courts. Legal regime of the international contract.

 

 

 

LESSON 5

 

International sale of goods. Regulation of the international sale of goods: the Vienna Convention of 1980. Formation of the contract. Obligations of the buyer. Obligations of the seller. Regime of non-compliance.

 

 

 

LESSON 6

 

International carriage of goods. The different modes of transport. Carriage of goods by sea. Carriage of goods by air. Carriage of goods by road. Carriage of goods by rail. Multimodal transport.

 

 

 

LESSON7

 

Modalities of payment, guarantees and financing. Modalities of payment in international trade: cheques, bank transfer, payment order, documentary credit. Guarantees: guarantee contract, independent guarantees, letters of sponsorship, proprietary rights as guarantees. Financing agreements. Insurance contracts.

 

 

 

LESSON 8

 

Collaboration agreements. Commercial distribution agreement. Transfer of technology agreement. E-commerce and services of the information society.

 

 

 

LESSON 9

 

Insolvency. Conditions for the opening of the bankruptcy proceeding. Opening of the proceedings. Development of the proceedings. International recognition of the proceedings. International cooperation.

 

 

 

LESSON 10

 

Arbitration in international trade. Nature of the arbitration. Arbitration agreement. Arbitration proceedings. Judicial intervention in arbitration proceedings. The law applied by the arbitrators. Judicial control of the arbitral award. Exequatur of the arbitral award. Investment arbitration.

 

 

 

 


Methodology

METHODOLOGY

 

There are three types of activities: activities directed by the teacher, supervised by de the teacher and autonomous learning of the student.

 

 

 

1. ACTIVITIES DIRECTED BY THE TEACHER

 

Activities directed by the teacher are the activities developed in the classroom, under the direction of the teacher during the time scheduled for the class. They may consist in lecturers given by the teacher, during the development of the classes practical problems will be raised and analysed and students will be asked to participate, contribute with their own ideas or even they will be invited to advance solutions to the problems that will be posed.

During lectures, the different issues will be explained. Although the teacher’s discourse will be the axis of the class, the participation of the students is also necessary. The students should read before the class the materials recommended. They should also take with him the relevant legal norms and judicial decisions that will be used during the class. The vast majority of those materials will be made available through the UAB Moodle.

There will be also activities in class under the supervision of the teacher. Judicial decisions, legal rules and practical problems will be analysed. The participation of the students –individually and in group- will be a key element during the classes. The reading of the materials before the class is also compulsory. In these classes, both written and oral exercises will be carried out. These exercises are aimed not only to strength their capacity for legal analysis but also their ability to work in groups, the capacity to elaborate legal documents and to improve techniques of argumentation and oral expression.

 

2. SUPERVISED ACTIVITIES

Tutorials, one-on-one or in group, when it will be necessary

3. AUTONOMOUS ACTIVITIES

 Autonomous activities are all those activities in which students organize their time and effort independently, individually or in a group. In the case of the course “International Commerce Law” these autonomous activities are the reading of handbooks and recommended materials as well as the study of the different issues of the program, according with the teacher’s instructions.

 

 

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures 22.5 0.9 1, 7, 6, 9, 11, 8, 2, 3
Work in class 22.5 0.9 1, 4, 5, 7, 6, 9, 11, 8, 14, 15, 2, 3
Type: Autonomous      
Assessment 5 0.2 13, 4, 5, 10, 6, 11, 12, 8
Reading of handbooks and documents 25 1 1, 4, 5, 7, 6, 9, 11, 8, 2, 3
Study 70 2.8 1, 4, 5, 7, 6, 9, 11, 8, 14, 15, 2, 3

Assessment

ORDINARY EVALUATION 

 

A) During the course two practical cases must be resolved. These exercises will be carried out on the dates that will be announced in class and through the moodle at the begining of the course. Each of these exercises will represent 12.5% of the final mark (1.25 points out of 10).

 

B) There will be a final examination (theory) composed of two questions that must be answered by the student without any kind of material. The mark of the exam will be 50% of the final mark (5 points out of 10).

 

C) A practical exam will be held during the course. The date will be announced at the begining of the course through the moodle. This practical exam will be 25% of the final mark (2.5 points out of 10).

  

D) The final mark will be that which results from considering that obtained in the tests described in a), b) and c).

 

PROCEEDING FOR THE REVISION OF THE MARKS

A) With the notification of the final marks will be provided information about the date for the revision of these marks. The revision will include all the works used for the evaluation (practical cases, final exam, practical exam).

B) During the course, the students are allowed to demand interviews with the teachers in order to be informed about the marks obteined and the valorations made by the teachers. These interviews are compatible with the revision of the final marks established supra in paragraph "A".

 

RE-EVALUATION

 

The students who don't obtain at least 5/10 as final mark in the ordinary evaluation can take part in the re-evaluation if they have taken part in avaluation activities that cover, at least, 66% of the avaluation. The re-evaluation will consist of the resolution of a case and an exam (theory) equivalent to what is provided in sections "b)" and "c)" of the ordinary evaluation.

The student could decide to re-evalute only the final exam or the resolution of the practical case. If he or she decides to do that, the mark that will be consider in the re-evalution for the part that has not been re-evaluated is the mark obtained in the ordinary evaluation.

The activity "resolution of practical cases" (point "a" of the ordinary evaluation) can not be re-evaluted. The marks that will be considered in the re-evaluation for this activity are those obtaine in the ordinary evaluation.

BREACHING OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Any activity against academic integrity (cheating on exams, plagiarism, etc.) will be communicated to the academic authorities. Any exercise in which a breaching of academic integrity will be found will be graded with a zero

 UNIQUE EVALUATION

This unique evaluation will consist of the following parts:

1- Practical exam (with materials); corresponding to lessons 1 to 5 (both included): 25% of the final mark.

2- Practical exam (with materials); corresponding to lessons 6 to 10 (both included): 25% of the final mark.

3- Theoretical exam  (lessons 1 to 10). No materials allowed. 50% of the final grade.

Recovery: The same exams as in the unique evaluation. Only the parts failed (less than 5/10) will be retaken.


Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Final exam (theory) 50% (5 points out of 10) 1 0.04 1, 4, 5, 7, 6, 9, 11, 8, 14, 15, 2, 3
Practical exam 25% (2,5 points out of 10) 1 0.04 1, 13, 4, 5, 7, 6, 9, 11, 8, 14, 15, 2, 3
Resolution of practical cases 25% (2,5 points out of 10) 3 0.12 1, 13, 4, 5, 10, 7, 6, 9, 11, 12, 8, 14, 15, 2, 3

Bibliography

There is no handbook in English that corresponds exactly with the issues that will be considered in the course. The references to the different materials will be provided by the professor during the course through the moodle.

Useful readings before the course are:

-J.C.T. Chuah, Law of International Trade, Sweet & Mawwell/Thomson Reuters, 6 ed. 2019 (https://cataleg.uab.cat/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2032408) (Jason Chuah)

- R.A. August/D. Mayer/M. Bixby, International Business Law, Pearsons Education, 6 ed. 2013 (https://cataleg.uab.cat/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2032411) (Ray A. August/Don Mayer/Michael Bixby).

And in Spanish

- J.C. Fernández Rozas/R. Arenas García/P.A. de Miguel Asensio, Derecho de los Negocios Internacionales, Madrid, Iustel, 6ª ed. 2020 (https://cataleg.uab.cat/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2092028).

 The previous reading of the following materials will be also useful:

- Regulation (EUI) 1215/2012

- Regulation (EU) 593/2008

- Regulation (EU) 864/2007

- UN Convention of 1980 on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods


Software

The course does not require any specific software.