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030557 KU Transnational Commercial Law (2025W)
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
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).
- Registration is open from We 10.09.2025 00:01 to We 24.09.2025 23:59
- Deregistration possible until Mo 13.10.2025 23:59
Details
max. 46 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
The exam will test the course participants on the content of the first four lectures only.
The exam will be applied in presence using a printed form, with online alternative via Moodle for those students that can provide written justification for absence (illness or previously booked travel). The slides and class notes should suffice for the preparation. Consulting the CISG will be allowed, but no other materials.The exam will be a combination of simple questions and problems, all of them as multiple-choice-questions.- Monday 13.10. 09:30 - 12:30 Seminarraum SEM42 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 4.OG
- Tuesday 14.10. 09:30 - 12:30 Seminarraum SEM52 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 5.OG
- Tuesday 21.10. 09:30 - 12:30 Seminarraum SEM34 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
- Wednesday 22.10. 09:30 - 12:30 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
- Tuesday 28.10. 09:30 - 12:30 Seminarraum SEM62 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 6.OG
- Wednesday 29.10. 09:30 - 12:30 Seminarraum SEM62 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 6.OG
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
Assessment and permitted materials
test - tbs (40%) and performance in the class (60%)
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
see above.
Examination topics
tba
Reading list
United Nations Conventions on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (https://uncitral.un.org/en/texts/salegoods/conventions/sale_of_goods/cisg)UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts 2016 (https://www.unidroit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Unidroit-Principles-2016-English-i.pdf)United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (https://uncitral.un.org/en/texts/transportgoods/conventions/rotterdam_rules)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”) (http://www.dutchcivillaw.com/legislation/haguevisbyrules.htm)United Nations Convention on Independent Guarantees and Stand-by Letters of Credit (https://uncitral.un.org/en/texts/payments/conventions/independent_guarantees)Additional recommended materialsIncoterms 2020ICC Uniform Customs and Practices for Documentary Credits (UCP 600)ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG)Recommended textbookGoode/Kronke/McKendrick/Wool, Transnational Commercial Law, 2nd. Ed., Oxford: University Press, 2012.Additional recommended readingMankowski / Cuniberti / Lehmann, Commercial Law, 2nd. ed., Baden-Badne: Beck/Hart/Nomos 2025Murray/Holloway/Timson-Hunt, Schmitthoff’s The Law and Practice of International Trade, 12th ed., London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2012Schlechtriem/Schwenzer/Schroeter (eds.), Commentary on the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods, 5th ed. Oxford: University Press, 2022Vogenauer (ed.), Commentary on the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, 2nd ed. Oxford: University Press, 2015
Association in the course directory
Last modified: Fr 24.10.2025 17:25
The course offers and 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, with a focus on contracts for the international sale of goods and ancillary transaction (transportation and letters of credit) and highlight the differences between the legal framework for international and domestic transactions.Structure and schedule of topics:
13.10. Transnational Commercial Law: Scope and Sources (three hours)
14.10. Choice of Law and International Contract Drafting (three hours)
21.10. International Sale of Goods (three hours)
22.10. International Sale of Goods (three hours)
28.10. Transport Contracts and Carrier Liability (three hours)
29.10. Trade Documents and Letters of Credit (three hours)The method of this course is both abstract and problem-oriented: at first, the background will be covered by a general introduction to the topic, explaining the legal sources and their role. Thereafter, specific problems will be discussed with the participants, often with a practical background. Students will receive original texts and documents. Powerpoint will be used.Language:
All classes will be held in English.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, its sources, elements and its relation to domestic law- introduce to the students the use of the comparative law to risk assessment in international commercial contracts and explain the connection between transnational commercial law, dispute settlement and private international law- enable students to understand how different transnational commercial law instruments apply and how they relate to one another and to domestic law, and offer 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, with a focus on the international contract for the sale of goods and ancillary transaction (transportation and letters of credit).