Comparative company law
PROF. DEBORAH RUSSETTI; PROF. LIVIA OGLIO
[Il programma è mutuato dall’insegnamento di International business law].
COURSE AIMS
The course intends to give an understanding of the principles, laws and rules which
govern private international business transactions, market competition as well as
economic relationships among States in the field of trade liberalization.
Specifically, the course will be structured into two modules, i.e. the first module is
taught by Prof. Deborah Russetti (40 hrs) whereas the second one is taught by Prof.
Livia Oglio (20 hrs).
COURSE CONTENT
I MODULE (40 hrs): Prof. Deborah Russetti
The first module of the course intends to give an understanding of the fundamental
of international trade focusing on the origins of the multilateral commercial
system, the WTO institutional framework and the main important principles and
rules of the international trade law.
In the second part of this course-module, attention will be given to the main
problems involved by a cross border transaction considering the jurisdiction, the
choice of law problems and the substantive rules governing certain specific
transactions in an international context, such as sale of goods (as well as its
financing through letters of credits), agency, distribution, IPRs’ licensing and
international factoring. Attention shall be additionally paid to some specific
contractual clauses, such as liquidated damages and hardship ones. Furthermore,
this second part of the first module will review the international dispute resolution
mechanisms analyzing the recognition of foreign awards and judgments through
municipal courts.
II MODULE (20 hrs): Prof. Livia Oglio
This second module of the course will focus on international agreements and
competition law. After a general introduction and overview on the genesis and
objectives of the European competition rules, this third part will consider, on the
one side, the impact of the competition rules on various kind of international
commercial agreements and cross-border transactions (such as vertical agreements,
cooperation agreements, R&D, supply agreements, joint ventures) and, on the other
side, the competition rules applicable to cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
READING LIST
Lectures will be based on specific readings materials indicated during the classes and
available on teachers’ blackboard pages at the beginning of the course. The reading
materials loaded on blackboard are for both attending and non-attending students.
TEACHING METHOD
The course is structured through frontal lessons and it will be taught with recourse to
practical examples and cases. Students will be encouraged to participate actively in the
classes.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Written final exam (with no mid-term exam) with multiple choice and open questions.
The two modules will be assessed jointly and at the same time at the end of the course. The
exam questions addressed to the attending students may be different from those addressed to
the non-attending ones.
The final score will be represented by the average of the two modules examination
results provided that both course-modules receive a positive score.