International Trade and Investment Law

This course is designed to introduce the student to the legal issues affecting business in a global economy. The first segment of the course deals with international transactions in goods and covers allocation of risks in international trade, documentary sales, bills of exchange, and letters of credit. The second segment addresses "jurisdiction to prescribe," the question of what country's (substantive) law applies to conduct abroad that has an effect within its borders. The third segment, "jurisdiction to adjudicate," includes the competence of courts, international arbitration, and enforcement of foreign money judgments. The fourth segment covers the treaties and laws that address the international trading systems, i.e., GATT, the U. S. Trade Act, free-trade agreements, the EEC, and the IMF. The final segment, "Act of State and Foreign Sovereign Immunity," deals with the special risks of doing business abroad and with foreign governments, specifically addressing problems of nationalization and expropriation.