Topics covered in this course generally include:

Private International Law: Basic Concepts

• Jurisdiction over disputes, people, property
• Choice and conflict of laws

Substantive Cross-Border Legal Matters

• UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracting
• Comparative law topics (the specific subject will be determined by the factual problem and may cover constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, torts etc)

Arbitration

• Introduction to arbitration
• UNCITRAL Rules of Commercial Arbitration

Advocacy and Cross-Cultural Communication

• Effective oral advocacy in arbitration
• Effective written advocacy for arbitration and for negotiation
• Effective Japanese language and cross-cultural communication in a legal context

Negotiation

• Basic principles and strategies of negotiation
• Cultural based negotiation?

The course objective is to provide students with a practical education in international dispute resolution.  This covers the procedural/mechanical aspects of both arbitrated and negotiated settlement.  Thus, the students will develop a familiarity and expertise in the UNCITRAL Rules of Commercial Arbitration and standard negotiation processes.  Further, the competition problems require research and development of an expertise in the following substantive legal areas:

• international contracting law;
• private international law; and
• comparative law.

Most significantly, the course and competition provides practical experience and training in cross-border lawyering.  Through the preparation phase, which requires reading and processing an extremely long and convoluted factual problem, the students must use and hone their skills at client counselling and fact deciphering.  The arbitration branch develops brief writing skills and oral argumentation.  Finally, the negotiation portion provides an opportunity to develop creative and strategic thinking in a fluid environment very similar to the so-called "real world".

Assessment will be based on:

• student contribution to the team's preparation
• the team's three memorandum for arbitration and negotiation
• assessment of the student's participation in the competition
• a reflective essay following the competition.

Details of the final assessment will be provided on the course home page by the first week of semester.

39 hours minimum

Completed or completing five LAWS courses at 1000 level.
The course is capped at 8 students.

Please refer to the course home page.

Students must have a strong background in Japanese to undertake this course.