Module LAW48215: INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION

Department: Law

LAW48215: INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce the theory and practice of international commercial arbitration as a distinct legal field;
• To provide practical instruction, the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards and institutional rules;
• To equip the necessary skillset to gain expertise in the application of concepts and norms within the field of international arbitration; and students seeking exposure to the world of international dispute resolution;
• To provide students with a critical analysis of current and contemporary international arbitration issues in the national, European and international level;
• To develop moral, ethical and contextual awareness of selected issues in international arbitration.

Content

• A general introduction to the various levels of laws regulating international commercial arbitration at the national and international level;
• An examination of current judicial interpretations and attitudes to key aspects of international commercial arbitration jurisprudence;
• A study of the impact of selected international treaties and conventions in international arbitration such as the New York Convention and UNCITRAL Model Law;
• A study of the current policy and practice of the leading institutional bodies charged with responsibility for administering commercial arbitration;
• A contemporary critical analyses of international arbitration issues such as third-party funding and confidentiality and recent developments in case law;
• The enforcement of arbitration agreements and arbitral awards in the courts, including the allocation of responsibility between courts and arbitrators, kompetenz-kompetenz and separability in leading arbitration jurisdictions around the world;
• How a dispute unfolds from the beginning of the dispute to the issuance of an award. It will include a discussion of preliminary relief, the commencement of arbitration proceeding, emergency arbitrators, the preliminary conference, the submission of memorials, witness statements and expert reports, the taking of evidence, and the hearings;
• Highlight best practice in written advocacy, seeking to bridge the divide between different legal traditions.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will gain an in-depth knowledge of the laws relating to main stream and contemporary forms of international commercial arbitration;
• Students will develop an in-depth knowledge of certain key aspects of the contemporary debates on international arbitration and its relationship with wider issues and will develop an understanding of the key legal concepts, principles and doctrines which underpin international arbitration;
• Students will develop a critical understanding of the policy issues and the methods of interpretation and application of national, regional and international commercial arbitration.

• Students will be able to identify and use the leading primary and secondary sources relevant to a given legal issue, and to be able to use them to reach informed and reasoned conclusions on points of law;
• Students will be able to identify the legal issues relevant to a specific problem;
• Analyse and evaluate the existing law in light of the legal, social, political and moral questions raised;
• Engage in an informed debate concerning current proposals for reform type here;
• Interpret and critically analyse the jurisprudence in intellectual commercial arbitration.

• Students will be able to critically review existing law and/or practices in relation to specific aspects of international commercial arbitration;
• Students will be able to write a substantial and well-researched piece of work on specific aspects of international commercial arbitration:
• Demonstrate an ability to understand and analyse critically a wide variety of complex issues relating to international commercial arbitration, drawing on a variety of materials;
• Develop expertise relating to international commercial arbitration in conducting legal research using materials from a variety of national, regional and international sources;
• Describe accurately and coherently the arguments and analysis of academic commentators on international commercial arbitration;
• Demonstrate an ability to explore complex issues creatively in writing on matters relating to international commercial arbitration;
• Interpret, critically analyse, and synthesise legal materials and literature relevant to international commercial arbitration;
• Undertake discovery-enriched independent research

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The teaching will be conducted in the form of seminars. The seminars will impart information and guide students through the material they will have to research and analyse. The discussion-led seminars, supported by substantial but targeted reading assignments, will provide a deeper understanding of the issues
• Through discussion-led seminars the students will be invited to draw on their existing legal knowledge and engage with domestic, European and international legal materials, as appropriate.
• The relevant learning outcomes will be achieved through:
• Monitoring the student’s understanding of the material and providing additional guidance where necessary;
• Enabling students to develop a critical view of the material covered through the formative essay and discussion-led seminars
• Assessment by essay will develop / demonstrate students' abilities to undertake independent analytical research utilising a wide range of law materials relating to international commercial arbitration.
• Feedback on formative and summative assessment to be provided in accordance with Law School feedback policies

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One optional essay or problem based question of approximately 1500 words.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University