International Commercial Arbitration, 15 Credits

Contents

The purpose of the course is to provide in-depth knowledge of international commercial arbitration. Particular emphasis will be put on legal analysis and discussion of issues within central themes, such as the framework of international commercial arbitration, the arbitration agreement, the arbitrators, the arbitration proceedings, the award, and the state as part to the proceedings.

During the course, aspects of international commercial arbitration will be examined within six themes.

Within the first theme we will examine the overreaching framework and field of international commercial arbitration, such as questions regarding the merits and perils of international commercial arbitration and different forms of arbitration, as well as alternatives to international commercial arbitration.

Within the second theme we will examine aspects of the arbitration agreement, such as questions regarding requirements, applicable law, validity, and interpretation.

Within the third theme we will examine different aspects of the arbitrators, such as qualifications, rights and responsibilities, as well as selection and removal of arbitrators.

Within the fourth theme we will examine different aspects of the proceedings, such as questions regarding arbitral seat and applicable procedural law, applicable substantive law or other applicable forms of regulation, as well as different aspects of the arbitration tribunal such as procedural questions, disclosure and evidence-taking, confidentiality and transparency, provisional measures, and professional responsibilities.

Within the fifth theme we will examine different aspects of the award, such as questions regarding different types of awards, formal requirements and remedies, as well as the possibilities to setting aside an award, and the ground for enforcement and non-enforcement of an award.

Within the sixth and final theme we will abandon the basic idea of arbitration between private parties, and focus on international commercial arbitration with the state as part, such as questions regarding investor-state and state-state arbitration.

Expected learning outcomes

At the end of the course the students shall:

exhibit advanced knowledge of central aspects of international commercial arbitration

be able to identify and in writing analyze legal questions regarding the aspects dealt within the themes of the course, and
show ability to present their own findings and be able to discuss their own and the other papers during the tutorials.
 

Required Knowledge

120 university credits from the Law Programme, or equivalent qualifications, including a minimum grade of ”Pass” on a module that includes civil procedure. Proficiency in English equivalent to Swedish upper secondary course English A/5.

Form of instruction

The instruction is in the form of tutorials, consisting of writing shorter papers and presenting and discussing said papers during the tutorials. Before each tutorial the student will write a shorter essay.

During the tutorial the student will first make a short presentation of the paper followed by a discussion where the student will defend the paper and ask questions related to the paper, thereby having the opportunity to repair the argumentation in the paper.

The course is based around 15 tutorials (15 papers and an equal amount of presentations and discussions during those 15 tutorials).
The language of the course including its literature is English.

A student who has been accepted and registered for the course has the right to teaching and guidance only during the term/academic year when he/she was accepted and registered.

Examination modes

Examination takes place through fulfillment of two parts, partly the compulsory oral part specified in component 1 below, partly based on the compulsory written part as specified in component 2 below.

Component 1
Assessment of the student’s ability of oral presentation and ability to discuss the own papers and the papers of others during the 15 tutorials given during the course.  

Component 2
Assessment of the student’s ability of written analysis and argumentation. The student chooses five papers that the examinator shall base the examination on.

Grading
A passing grade on the activities under components 1-2 above are required to receive a passing grade for the course as a whole. On the entire course, the grades given are Fail (U), Pass (G) and Pass with Distinction (VG). The grade for the course as a whole is based on the sum of component 1 and 2 and awarded after the completion of all compulsory course elements in component 1 and 2.

The appointed examiner may decide to use other forms of examination if required by particular circumstances. A student who has not passed the course and received the grade “Fail” on the course, due to deficiencies in component 1 or 2 above has the right to do a make-up assignment for these tutorials in order to reach the grade Pass (but not higher grades). The student may still achieve a higher grade than Pass on the course overall, if all requirements for the grade in question are fulfilled.

The mode of this make-up assignment is dependent on the deficiencies in the individual case, i.e., if the deficiencies are in component 1 above, the make-up assignment will be oral, if the deficiencies are in component 2 above, the make-up assignment will be written. The make-up assignment must be completed no later than two months after the student learned of the failed grade.

A student who has passed examination may not be re-examined. A student who has taken two tests for a course or segment of a course, without passing, has the right to have another examiner appointed, unless special reasons exist. A written request for change of examiner is submitted to the Director of Undergraduate Education.

Transfers
Students have the right to apply to have a previous education or experience evaluated for transfer of credits. For more information, see: www.umu.se/utbildning/antagning/tillgodoraknande/