Universität Wien

030455 KU Transnational Commercial Law (2019W)

2.00 ECTS (1.00 SWS), SPL 3 - Rechtswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 30 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Please note that due to the cancellation of the session on 16 October a further session will take place on 6 November.

Course material will be uploaded on Moodle.

For any information on the course please contact Ms Petra Peirleitner (petra.peirleitner@univie.ac.at).

This course is compulsory for those participating in the “Moot Court
International Commercial Arbitration”.

  • Monday 14.10. 18:30 - 21:45 Hörsaal 2 Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 5 Hof 3
  • Wednesday 16.10. 16:45 - 20:00 Hörsaal 2 Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 5 Hof 3
  • Wednesday 23.10. 16:45 - 20:00 Hörsaal 2 Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 5 Hof 3
  • Monday 28.10. 18:30 - 21:45 Hörsaal 2 Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 5 Hof 3
  • Wednesday 30.10. 16:45 - 20:00 Hörsaal 2 Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 5 Hof 3
  • Wednesday 06.11. 18:30 - 21:45 Hörsaal 3 Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 5 Hof 3

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This course focuses on the fundamentals of transactional commercial law, its main areas of application, and the process of commercial law harmonisation: choice of harmonisation instrument and their respective advantages and disadvantages; harmonisation through specific binding instruments (CISG, Hague-Visby Rules and New York Conventions); harmonisation through contract and institutional rules; harmonisation through model laws; the future development of transnational commercial law.
The course offers an overview of both the general framework, policies and problems of transnational commercial law, as well as of the main international commercial law conventions, standard terms and uniform rules, so that the student gains a perception of the way transnational law comes into being and can be used by international legal practitioners to bridge the gap between different legal systems. The course will then introduce the main instruments of transnational law in three areas of international transactions (international contracts, transportation and international payments) and highlight the differences between the legal framework for international and domestic transactions.
Structure and schedule of topics:
-Introduction to transnational commercial law; role of lex mercatoria; methods, process and tools of legal harmonisation; basic notions of conflicts of laws and international jurisdiction; the importance of choice of law and dispute settlement
-International commercial contracts: main differences between domestic contract laws from a comparative law perspective; sources of international contract law (CISG, UNIDROIT Principles), in particular contracts for the international sale of goods
-Overview of the law of the international carriage of goods by sea, as compared to carriage by road and sea
-International rules and usages for bills of lading and letters of credit

Assessment and permitted materials

Assessment will be on the basis of an essay/written take-home exam (50%) and performance in the class (50%).

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The purpose of this course is to:
- offer students an overview of the main challenges faced by lawyers in international legal practice and familiarize them with the notion of transnational commercial law
- help students assess the main challenges in international commercial law practice and explain the connection between transnational commercial law and the rules on conflict of laws
- enable students to understand how the various transnational commercial law instruments relate to one another, and gain an insight into the way these instruments are developed, what are their driving forces and how are they used in practice
- provide students with basic knowledge necessary about the main sources of law governing international transactions

Examination topics

Lectures and case studies.

Reading list

Course materials:

United Nations Conventions on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (www.uncitral.org/pdf/english/texts/sales/cisg/V1056997-CISG-e-book.pdf)
UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (www.unidroit.org/instruments/commercial-contracts/unidroit-principles-2016)
United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (www.uncitral.org/pdf/english/texts/transport/rotterdam_rules/Rotterdam-Rules-E.pdf)
International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading, as Amended by the Brussels Protocol 1968)(“The Hague-Visby Rules”) (www.jus.uio.no/lm/sea.carriage.hague.visby.rules.1968/doc.html)
United Nations Convention on Independent Guarantees and Stand-by Letters of Credit (www.uncitral.org/pdf/english/texts/payments/guarantees/guarantees.pdf)

Recommended textbook:
Goode/Kronke/McKendrick/Wool, Transnational commercial law, Oxford: University Press, 2007.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Fr 06.05.2022 00:15