International business law (2020/2021)

Learning outcomes

The course will be held in English. The target of the course is to prepare the students to be autonomous in: -Understanding the mechanisms of laws and business that companies have to face when entering into cross-border markets; -Drawing up commercial agreements in order to limit or prevent risks or losses for the company. At the end of the course, students will, therefore, show to be autonomously able to: ---Be knowledgeable and understanding of the contracts’ and companies’ risks linked to the internationalization process; ---Manage such risks by advising the proper instruments; ---Prepare and explain their projects by showing the contents and reasons.

The main object of the course is to prepare the students to understand the mechanisms of laws and of trades that companies face to enter into cross-border markets and how to draft business agreements to limit or to prevent risks or losses. Essential guidelines of the course are the awareness of risks arising from cross-border business activities, as well as the early risk management.
Starting from the point of view on how to manage the risk in an international context, the course will examine some types of commercial contracts that companies use to enter into foreign markets (e.g. sales contract, distribution agreement, know-how licensing agreement, consignment stock) and other contracts that are essential to prevent or to limit compensations or losses (e.g. confidentially agreement, guarantees). Furthermore, the implementation of the principle of freedom of establishment, the main company governance systems (particularly the latin system, the one-tier and two-tier system) and the principle of the single undertaking will be also analysed.
Students will be active part of lessons and of the course itself. Projects will be assigned to students who will examine and present the project by using slides. A written report will be needed as well.
At the end of the course students will show to be able to understand and manage companies’ internationalisation with the twofold aim of evaluating and preventing the risk with reference to the tools analysed during the course.

The didactic material will be made available on the e-learning platform throughout the course itself.
The final test will be developed in two phases: the first one will be in writing structured in open questions, while the second one will be carried out an oral test.
The final grade will be the result of the mathematical average of the grades of both tests.
The projects prepared and discussed in class by the students are part of the program of the course and will be asked both in the written and oral exam.
By reference to the oral test: one question will concern the above-mentioned projects. The attending students are allowed to discuss their own project. The non-attending students can choose and discuss one project among the ones carried out during the present course.
In any case, the students are to be knowledgeable about every project developed during the course, given that the Professor will ask about the other projects too.