Global Commercial Contract Law

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2013:

Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.

The Melbourne Law Masters welcomes applications from students with disabilities. The inherent academic requirements for study in the Melbourne Law Masters are:

• The ability to attend a minimum of 75% of classes and actively engage in the analysis and critique of complex materials and debate;
• The ability to read, analyse and comprehend complex written legal materials and complex interdisciplinary materials;
• The ability to clearly and independently communicate in writing a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and to critically evaluate these;
• The ability to clearly and independently communicate orally a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and critically evaluate these;
• The ability to work independently and as a part of a group;
• The ability to present orally and in writing legal analysis to a professional standard.

Students who feel their disability will inhibit them from meeting these inherent academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit: www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject provides an introduction to the global law relating to international commercial contracts. A major focus will be on contracts of sales, as codified by the Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG). However, some issues of the general law of contract will also be covered in detail (e.g. formation, interpretation, third party rights, the duty of good faith and fair dealing). The treatment of some of these topics will be based on an examination of the 2010 UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (PICC). The approach is comparative. Examples will be drawn from the decisions of national courts as well as arbitral awards.

Principal topics will include:

• Global commercial contracts
• Applicability and application of the CISG and the PICC
• Interpretation and supplementation of the CISG and the PICC
• Contract formation
• Interpretation of international commercial contracts
• Third party rights
• Obligations of sellers and buyers
• Contractual remedies
• Good faith and fair dealing
• Transnational commercial dispute resolution.

A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

• Be aware of the nature of transnational commercial law
• Be aware of the specific legal problems that arise from international commercial transactions
• Be familiar with the Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG)
• Be familiar with the 2010 UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (PICC)
• Understand the basics of transnational commercial dispute resolution

Class participation (10%)

Take-home examination (90%) (21–24 June)

Core subject materials will be provided free of charge to all students. Some subjects require further texts to be purchased. Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.