International Commerce Law
Code: 102261Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Law | OP | 4 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Rafael Arenas Garcia
- Email :
- rafael.arenas@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Roger Canals Vaquer
- Miquel Gardeñes Santiago
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
There is no previous requeriment.
Language: English.
The teaching of the subject will be carried out taking into account the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Objectives
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 international traffic has in different fields and also paying attention to the gender perspective and contributing to the visibility of women's contributions to the discipline.
Learning outcomes
- Managing bibliographic and documentary resources: databases, browsing, etc.
- Demonstrating a sensible and critical reasoning: analysis, synthesis, conclusions.
- Identifying and solving problems.
- Students must be capable of learning autonomously and having an entrepreneurial spirit.
- Working in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary fields.
- Memorising and using the specific terminology of Public International Law, Private International Law and European Union Law.
- Identifying and knowing the basic contents of every stipulated speciality.
- Assessing legislative changes and reforms in a context of plurality of systems.
- Identifying and assessing the changes and evolution of jurisprudence in a context of plurality of systems.
- Building a legal reasoning or discourse in the field of Public International Law, Private International Law and European Union Law.
- Assessing the underlying conflicts of interest in the legal problems proposed in an international environment.
- Integrating the importance of Law as a regulatory system of social relations, and the contextualisation of the legal phenomenon in the international environment.
- Applying an interdisciplinary and integrated vision of the legal problems in an international environment.
- Present information in a way that is appropriate to the type of audience.
- Seek out, interpret and apply legal provisions related to Public Internacional law, Private International Law and European Union Law.
Contents
PROGRAMME
LESSON 1
Object, content and sources of International Commerce Law. International trade: background, evolution and current situation. International trade, international business law, international economic law, commercial law and private international law. The sources of International Commerce Law: conventional law, institutional law, autonomous law, lex mercatoria.
LESSON 2
Intangible assets, competition law and non-contractual liability. Industrial and intellectual property. Unfair competition. Competition law. 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. International mobility and transformation of companies. International judicial jurisdiction in corporate matters.
LESSON 4
International commercial contracts. Sources of regulation of the contract. 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.
LESSON 7
Modalities of payment, guarantees and financing. Modalities of payment: cheque, bank transfer, payment order, documentary credit, crypto-assets. Guarantees in contracting: guarantee contract, independent or first-demand guarantees, letters of sponsorship, proprietary guarantees. Financing agreements. Insurance contracts.
LESSON 8
Collaboration agreements. Commercial distribution. Transfer of technology and industrial property. E-commerce and services of the information society.
LESSON 9
Insolvency proceedings. Conditions for insolvency. Opening of the proceedings. Development of the proceedings. Extraterritorial effects of insolvency and coordination between proceedings.
LESSON 10
Arbitration in international trade. Configuration of the arbitral activity. 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.
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tutorials | 5 | 0.2 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15 |
| Reading of handbooks and documents | 30 | 1.2 | 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
| Study | 60 | 2.4 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
| Continous assessment | 6 | 0.24 | 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Work in class | 22 | 0.88 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
| Lectures | 22 | 0.88 | 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 |
METHODOLOGY
The student's learning process is organised around three types of training activities:
1. ACTIVITIES DIRECTED BY THE TEACHER
Activities directed by the teacher are those developed in the classroom, under the direction of the teacher during the time scheduled for the class. They may consist of lectures 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 their own ideas or even advance solutions to the problems 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 the recommended materials before the class. They should also bring with them 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 also be 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 groups— 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 at strengthening their capacity for legal analysis but also their ability to work in groups, their capacity to draft legal documents and to improve their techniques of argumentation and oral expression.
2. SUPERVISED ACTIVITIES
Tutorials, one-on-one or in groups when necessary, and activities aimed at continuous assessment.
3. AUTONOMOUS ACTIVITIES
Autonomous activities are all those in which students organise 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 programme, according to 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.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution of practical cases | 25% (2,5 points out of 10) | 3 | 0.12 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Final exam (theory) | 50% (5 points out of 10) | 1 | 0.04 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
| Practical exam | 25% (2,5 points out of 10) | 1 | 0.04 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 |
REGULAR ASSESSMENT
The course will be assessed as follows:
a) 50% of the final grade (up to a maximum of 5 points) will be based on the final theoretical exam. This exam will be oral, and in it students must demonstrate their command of the subject.
b) 25% of the final grade (up to 2.5 points) will correspond to a practical test held during the course, on a date announced at the beginning of the term via the Virtual Campus.
c) 25% of the final grade (up to 2.5 points) will correspond to two written in-class assignments, on dates announced at the start of the course via the Virtual Campus. Each of these assignments will count for 12.5% of the final grade (up to 1.25 points each).
The graded practical tests —the two in-class assignments held during the course [section "c)"] and the practical test [section "b)"]— must be completed without the use of any materials, with the sole exception of the course guide and an English dictionary, whether monolingual or bilingual (English and another language). In the final theoretical exam [section "a)"] only the course guide may be consulted.
d) The final grade will be the weighted result of the final theoretical exam [section "a)"], the practical test [section "b)"], and the two in-class assignments [section "c)"]. Failure to complete the assignments in section "c)" does not prevent a student from passing the course, as long as the final grade obtained from the assessments in sections "a)", "b)", and "c)" reaches a minimum of 5 according to the stated weightings or the average grade required according to the general regulations of the UAB.
Students who do not sit the final exam will be graded as "not evaluable."
The publication of final grades will include information on the date for grade review. All assessable work completed during the course will be reviewed at this time.
During the course, students may request meetings with the teaching staff to be informed of the reasons for their grades and the assessment carried out. These meetings do not in any way preclude the grade review described in the previous paragraph.
REASSESSMENT
Students who have not passed the course in the regular assessment may be eligible for reassessment if they have completed evaluable activities representing at least 66% of the total assessment. The reassessment will include a theoretical exam, with the same format as the regular one (section "a)"), and a practical test (section "b)"). The grades obtained in the theoretical and practical reassessment will account for 75% of the final grade. The remaining 25% will correspond to the two in-class assignments from the regular assessment (section "c)"), which cannot be reassessed.
If the student wishes, they may choose to be reassessed for only the final exam or only the practical exam. In that case, the grade obtained in the regular assessment for the component not reassessed will be used in the final grade calculation.
SINGLE ASSESSMENT
The single assessment will consist of the following components:
- Practical test covering lessons 1-5 (inclusive): 25% of the final grade.
- Practical test covering lessons 6-10 (inclusive): 25% of the final grade.
- Theoretical test (lessons 1-10): 50% of the final grade.
The theoretical exam will be oral, following the same rules as in the regular assessment. The two practical tests must be completed without the use of materials, with the exception of the course guide.
Reassessment: The same tests as in the single assessment. Only students who have not passed the course in the regular assessment may take the reassessment..
Students who do not sit the single assessment exam will be graded as "not evaluable."
USE OF AI
The use of AI in assessable activities is not permitted in this course.
FRAUDULENT CONDUCT
IMPORTANT: Should a student copy, commit plagiarism or be found with any prohibited device during an assessment, the teaching staff will grade that assessment act with a 0 and will report the matter to the Faculty Dean's Office, submitting a report on the circumstances and evidence of the incident in order to request the opening of any disciplinary proceedings against the student. This assessment activity cannot be reassessed. Should more than one irregularity occur in the assessment acts of the same course, the final grade for that course will be 0.
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 teaching staff during the course through the Moodle.
Useful complementary readings are:
- J.C.T. Chuah, Law of International Trade, Sweet & Maxwell/Thomson Reuters, 7th ed., 2023.
- R.A. August/D. Mayer/M. Bixby, International Business Law, Pearson Education, 6th ed., 2013.
And in Spanish:
- José Carlos Fernández Rozas/Rafael Arenas García/Pedro Alberto de Miguel Asensio, Derecho de los Negocios Internacionales, Madrid, Iustel, 7th ed., 2024.
The previous reading of the following materials will also be useful:
- Regulation (EU) 1215/2012.
- Regulation (EU) 593/2008.
- Regulation (EU) 864/2007.
- United Nations Convention of 1980 on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
Software
The course does not require any specific software.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |