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SoSe 14: VL Internationales Wirtschaftsrecht / International Economic Law

Steffen Hindelang

Information for students

Diese Lehrveranstaltung ist für internationale und LL.M. Studierenden geeignet und wird teilweise auf Englisch abgehalten / This course is available for international and LL.M. students and will be held partially in English. close

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General information

International Economic Law (IEL) can be defined as the body of rules and standards governing international economic relations between States or towards trade blocs such as the EU. These rules and standards affect individuals in their relations inter se across boundaries. Such activities comprise in particular international trade including services, investment, and monetary and financial transactions as well as the movement of persons. The lecture provides an introduction to and overview of the public international law regimes governing these fields of activity. Upon completion of the course students shall be able to understand basic structures of the complex body of international economic law, to work with the main rules in the field, and to critically evaluate them.
Not part of the course are those rules which address the legal relations between individuals, such as the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, lex mercatoria, or laws of conflicts. Internal regimes of regional integration organizations are also not covered.

Content (overview)

I. A general introduction to international economic law

The nature of international economic law
Sources of international economic law
Subjects in international economic law
A typology of dispute settlement mechanisms in international economic law

II. An overview of international trade law

Genesis of WTO/GATT System
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
Dispute settlement in WTO law

III. International investment law in a nutshell

Genesis of international investment law; law of aliens
Treatment standards in modern international investment law
Dispute settlement in modern international investment law
The role of the EU in shaping international investment law
Energy-related investment disputes

IV. A brief account of international monetary law

Mode of teaching

The two-hour lecture will be held in both German and in English. Students are invited to actively take part in discussions as well as in case studies presented during class. Some reading will be recommended in order to prepare for classes.
In June, the Department of Law of the Freie Universität Berlin will host Professor Andreas Ziegler of the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). He will give several guest lectures on trade and investment-related issues. Further information will be provided in class. Other guests might be announced on short notice.

Schedule

The lecture will take place every week during the semester, Wednesdays from 16.00 c.t. to 18.00 hours. Some sessions might be read en bloc in order to accommodate time constraints of guest lecturers and to take account of the exam period of students.

Prerequisites

The lecture is addressed to undergraduate students in law and in political science as well as to Erasmus and graduate students in the fields of study mentioned before. Knowledge of general public international law would be of advantage but is not required.

Assessment (optional)

There is an optional oral examination at the end of semester for those students frequently attending. Further information will be given in class.
Prof. Dr. Steffen Hindelang, LL.M.
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