74645 - International Contracts in Global Markets

Learning outcomes

The course offers an understanding of international private law with a specific focus on the law of contracts. At the end of the course, students will be able to analyze issues such as: - the conceptual foundations of contracts in a comparative perspective - European contract law - international commercial contracts (on goods and transports) - the role of international, a-national and transnational actors - the law of international investments.

Course contents

The International Contract Law in Global Markets course will provide students with an introduction to the topic of contract regulation in the global markets, which entails the major problem of international trade and economic relations governance against the backdrop of the National States sovereignty crisis due to lack of legislative power and jurisdiction over global markets. The workshop is split up into two parts.

The first one (section 1 and section 2: 20 hours) covers the contract regulations provided for by the main State legal systems in Europe and their core differences. It also concerns the feasibility of uniform contract laws at European level by focusing on the academics attempts to draft common principles for European contract law, such as the PECL proposals published by the Lando Commission; DCFR and the “avant-project” revision of PECL published by the French Association Henri Capitant. Finally, we will consider the harmonization of EU member State contract law through the enforcement of vertical and horizontal directives concerning consumer contracts.

The second module (section 3 and section 4: 20 hours) covers the topic of international commercial contracts a-national and transnational regulations as carried out by: - international institutions such as the International Chamber of Commerce (as is the case with Incoterms and uniform customs and documentary credit practices); - international organizations set up at the initiative of States, like Unidroit or otherwise based on Treaties, like Uncitral, and - even engendered by private business circles (as is the case for marine insurance standard clauses). We will also consider the role played by the arbitral tribunals in engineering a legal context for international business and economic transactions by advancing principles or norms that would go beyond the concrete interests of the parties involved in transactions (as is the case with lex mercatoria applied to disputes concerning petroleum concession agreement entered into by States and Nationals of other States). The final part of the course may be devoted to foreign investment control issue by analyzing the Washington Convention and ICSID case law.

It is compulsory to attend the classes. At least 70% attendance is required and it is verified by signature sheet during class.

Readings/Bibliography

The students attending the course will benefit of materials made available during the lessons. For all the other students, the texts of reference are the following (the relevant chapters are herein indicated):

1) Guillermo C. JIMENEZ, ICC guide to export/import. Global standards for international trade, ICC, 4° ed., ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13; and

2) Incoterms 2010, ICC rules for the use of domestic and international trade terms.

3) The ICC Model Internationa Sale Contract (manufactured goods), 2013;

4) ICC Model Contract Distributorship, 2016.

The ICC reserves to Professor Alvisi course's students a special discount (30%) on the above mentioned publications if the students intend to buy them on the ICC website. To take profit of the said discount the students are invited to contact ICC.

Additionally but not compulsory, the students willing to deepen the comparative contract topics, can make reference to:
5) Hugh BEALE, Benedicte FAUVARQUE-COSSON, Jacobien RUTGERS, Denis TALLON, Stefan VOGENAUER, Cases, materials, text on Contract Law, Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2010.

Teaching methods

The course will be mainly delivered through lectures.

Case-law and academic essays will be uploaded on the professor's website immediately before or after the lectures, to let the students to have prompt access to the materials focused during each lecture.

During the course will be arranged mock-up presentations concerning contract negotiation and drafting.

Special workshops can be arranged with experts as special guests. The students will be informed of that during the course and also through notices published on the professor's website.

Assessment methods

Students skills will be assessed through a multiple choice test at the end of the course. The students who fail the exam or withdraw will be admitted to the next exam not earlier than one month.

Teaching tools

projector, slides, websources, workshops. 

Office hours

See the website of Chiara Alvisi