Academics

The Summer Program in International Business Law has a flexible course structure and allows you to customize your schedule by selecting coursework best suited to your personal interests and needs. You may select between three and six courses based upon your interests.

Participants who successfully complete the program will receive a certificate of participation and transcript of grades.

• Corporate Governance in Publicly Traded Corporations
• International Business & Corporate Sustainability
• International Business Transactions
• International Commercial Arbitration
• International Commercial Litigation
• Negotiation

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Carsten Jungmann

Credit Load: 1 ABA / 2 ECTS

"I really admire the way in which Prof. Jungmann taught us complex theoretical concepts. It was really fun and well explained, which made the content covered easy to understand." - from evaluation

In addition to a short introduction to German stock corporation law, this course will deal in detail with (legal) questions of corporate governance. The problems addressed primarily concern the directors' fiduciary duties as well as the tasks and rights of those who are in control of the management (members of the supervisory board, shareholders, auditors, etc.).

As the clear focus of the course is on publicly traded corporations, you will also gain a sound knowledge of securities regulation provisions and the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code. Well-known financial scandals, e.g. Enron, will be reviewed in case studies.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Loes Lennarts

Credit Load: 1 ABA / 2 ECTS

The course was going to be offered for the first time and had to be cancelled in 2023 due to illness.

Until quite recently, only soft law instruments, such as the ground breaking UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, incentivised multinational corporations to operate in a socially and environmentally responsible way in all the host states where they operate. Lately, the call for binding obligations for multinational corporations to respect human rights and the environment, no matter where they operate, is gaining ground. In the EU, this trend is reflected in legislative initiatives both at Member State and EU level, as well as in case law.

The aim of this course is to equip students with insight into these recent developments, by – inter alia:

• analysing and discussing tort law claims against multinationals for human rights violations in host states 
• analysing and discussing the implications of the (draft) EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) for the governance of companies within its scope and all the partners in their chains of activities; and by
• analysing and discussing the question to what extent the CSDDD and national CSDD laws can improve the position of victims in host states.

Lecturer: Prof. Keith Hand

Credit load: 1 ABA / 2 ECTS

2024 will be the first year that Prof. Hand teaches this course during the summer program.

Course description to be posted in December 2023.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Stefan Kröll

Credit Load: 1 ABA / 2 ECTS

"Professor Kröll is a teacher like no other. He is extremely knowledgeable about arbitration worldwide, has a wealth of experience working at the top of the field, and, above all, has the ability to explain concepts in an original, interactive and imaginative way." - from evaluation

This course covers arbitration as a dispute resolution process for international trade and business disputes. It analyzes the different forms, contractual and legal bases, and advantages of arbitration. Issues discussed on the basis of a case study include the arbitration agreement, jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, role of the courts during and after arbitration proceedings and the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards.

The course gives special attention to the international framework of arbitration, in particular the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, which forms the basis of the national arbitration laws in more than 100 states, as well as the New York Convention (UN Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards), which has been ratified by more than 170 states and regulates the recognition and enforcement of arbitration agreements and awards worldwide. Thus the course focuses on commercial arbitration as an international phenomenon and not on arbitration under any particular national system.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Peter Huber

Credit Load: 1 ABA / 2 ECTS

"I was really impressed with Professor Huber´s knowledge, teaching approach and way of explaining tricky concepts. Professor Huber is really dedicated and makes sure that what he teaches is clear, even if the subject matter is inherently complex." - from evaluation

This course deals with cases where an international commercial transaction has given rise to a legal dispute between the parties and where this dispute is not decided by arbitration. In such a scenario, the parties have to litigate before the domestic court of a State. This raises a number of difficult issues, a selection of which will be dealt with in the course.

One part of the course will be devoted to the issue of international jurisdiction: In which state's courts can the plaintiff bring his lawsuit against the defendant? What if there are several states that offer a ground of jurisdiction? Why does it matter at all whether a dispute is litigated in one state rather than in another? Can the parties in their contract choose the forum in which future claims will be litigated (forum selection)?

A second part of the course will deal with a selection of specific issues that may arise in international commercial litigation: What if the court which is seized with the lawsuit regards itself as an inappropriate forum (forum non conveniens)? What if the same lawsuit is brought twice, but in different states (lis alibi pendens)? What are the so-called "torpedo claims"? Is it possible to prevent the other party from bringing a lawsuit in a certain state by way of an "antisuit injunction"? Will a judgment from the courts of one state be recognized and enforced in other states?

The course will address these issues primarily from a European (EU) and US perspective. A detailed reading list and a reader with materials covering European and US sources, e.g., cases, articles, will be available before the course.