COML 3005 Study Period 2 - 2013 Internal - City West Campus
Introduction
Welcome
Dear Student, Welcome to International Commercial Law. This course was newly developed in 2009, when it was offered as "LAWS1005 - International Business Law". The content of the course has since been developed further and we constantly endeavour to make improvements based on the teaching experience and student feedback. International commerce and trade has for centuries played an essential role in the development of the world as we know it today. Since the middle of the 20th century improved telecommunication and long-distance transportation technology, as well as a continuous improvement in the social and political …show more content…
environment, international cooperation and the development of international commercial and trade law have led to an unprecedented expansion of international commerce and economical growth in all parts of the world. This course will provide you with a broad overview of the major legal issues impacting on trade and commercial activities across national borders. It will cover aspects within the private international Law, such as contracts of sale of goods, contracts of carriage of goods, payment and dispute settlement as well as issues which fall under the sphere of public international law, such as the WTO, regional trade organisations and agreements. The course comprises lectures and tutorials. You, the student, are expected to keep up with the weekly readings and participate actively in the tutorials. In return for your efforts you will gain interesting insights in the world of international business.
Course Teaching Staff
Primary Coordinator: Dr Ping Xiong Location: Email: Telephone: Staff Home Page: School of Law LB1-28 Ping.Xiong@unisa.edu.au +61 8 8302 0149 people.unisa.edu.au/Ping.Xiong
Tutor: Location: Email: Staff Home Page:
Ms Stacey Carter School of Law Stacey.Carter@unisa.edu.au people.unisa.edu.au/Stacey.Carter
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Administrator: Location: Email: Telephone: Fax: Staff Home Page:
Miss Kathleen Grosser School of Law LB1-20 Kathleen.Grosser@unisa.edu.au +61 8 8302 7344 +61 8 8302 7128 people.unisa.edu.au/Kathleen.Grosser
* Please refer to your Course homepage for the most up to date list of course teaching staff.
School Contact Details
School of Law
Physical Address: Ground Floor, Law Building (LB) 228 Hindley Street City West Adelaide 5000 GPO Box 2471 Adelaide 5001 +61 8 8302 7244 +61 8 8302 7128 law.enquiries@unisa.edu.au http://www.unisa.edu.au/law/contacts.asp
Postal Address: School Phone: School Fax: School Email: School Website:
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Course Overview
Prerequisite(s)
COML 1001 Foundations of Business Law
Corequisite(s)
There are no corequisite courses to be completed in conjunction with this course.
Course Aim
To provide students with an understanding of the areas of law which have an impact on business at the international level.
Course Objectives
On completion of this course, students should be able to: CO1. Demonstrate and apply knowledge of the legal framework governing contracts for the international sale of goods and for the carriage of goods by sea, air and land CO2. Explain the common means of payment and financing in connection with international transactions CO3. Identify and explain the legal issues that arise from international banking and finance and from foreign investment at the international level CO4. Explain the means available by which to resolve international commercial disputes (including WTO Dispute Resolution) Upon completion of this course, students will have achieved the following combination of Graduate Qualities and Course Objectives: Graduate Qualities being assessed through the course GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 CO1 CO2 CO3 CO4 • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Graduate
Qualities
A graduate of UniSA: GQ1. operates effectively with and upon a body of knowledge of sufficient depth to begin professional practice GQ2. is prepared for life-long learning in pursuit of personal development and excellence in professional practice GQ3. is an effective problem solver, capable of applying logical, critical, and creative thinking to a range of problems GQ4. can work both autonomously and collaboratively as a professional GQ5. is committed to ethical action and social responsibility as a professional and citizen
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GQ6. communicates effectively in professional practice and as a member of the community GQ7. demonstrates international perspectives as a professional and as a citizen
Course Content
Concepts of the international sale of goods. Contracts of sale under the Vienna Sales Convention. Contracts for carriage of goods by sea, air and land. Bills of exchange and letters of credit in international trade. Finance of international commerce and legal issues in foreign investment. WTO/GATT and other relevant international organisations and treaties. Legal issues of intellectual property rights and electronic commerce in an international context. Settlement of international commercial disputes: litigation and conflict of laws; international arbitration; negotiation; mediation.
Teaching and Learning Arrangements
Tutorial Lecture 2 hours x 13 weeks 1 hour x 13 weeks
Unit Value
4.5 units
Additional assessment requirements
To obtain a pass grade overall students will normally need to achieve at least 40% in the final examination and Students who do not achieve 40% in the examination but who achieve a mark for the course in the range of 4549% will be eligible for a conceded pass (CP) or a terminating pass (TP) provided they meet the other criteria as specified in the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual.
OHS&W
What to do in a Building Emergency Evacuation at City West campus If you hear a continuous alarm bell or tone or are requested by an Emergency Warden / Lecturer / Tutor / Security to evacuate the building you must: ● follow their instructions ● leave the building immediately by the nearest safest exit stairs – do not hesitate ● you are not allowed to use the lift, you must use the stairs ● proceed to the assembly point ● remain at the assembly point until advised the emergency is over ● not re-enter the building until advised it is safe to do so by the Emergency Evacuation Officer / Security. ● Do not try to re-enter just because the alarm has stopped.
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Learning Resources
Textbook(s)
You will need continual access to the following text(s) to complete this course. The library does not hold multiple copies of the nominated text books. You are strongly recommended to purchase the book(s). Mo J 2013, International Commercial Law, 5th ed, Lexis Nexis Butterworths, Chatswood, N.S.W. .
Reference(s)
COURSE HOMEPAGE AND MYUNISA You can access the Course Website (Moodle) either through: http://learn.unisa.edu.au/course/view.php?id=18905 , or http://www.unisa.edu.au/myUniSA ONLINE COURSE MATERIALS The Online Course Materials provide essential information relevant to this course; for instance a week to week Study & Tutorial Guide, a noticeboard with news and information regarding the course, student discussion boards, lecture notes and the summaries of the group presentations. The Online Course Materials are only available to students enrolled in this course and can be accessed through the Course Website mentioned above. EXTRA COURSE INFORMATION This booklet provides important information relevant to the study of all your courses. This can be accessed at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/ltu/staff/practice/materials/course-information/extra.asp, from the course homepage and myUniSA. DATABASES AND ONLINE RESOURCES UniSA Library law resources: http://www.library.unisa.edu.au/TopicGuides/guide.aspx?pg=73 (This very helpful websites contains links to legal online dictionaries, encyclopaedias and hand-books as well as to key internet websites and legal databases which can be accessed directly through the Internet or through the UniSA Library Website.) Institute of International Commercial Law at Pace Law Library: http://www.cisg.law.pace.edu (A very useful site for information regarding CISG) International Chamber of Commerce (ICC): http://www.iccwbo.org International Monetary Fund: http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm UNCITRAL United Nations Commission on International Trade Law: http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/index.html UNIDROIT International Institute for the Unification of Private Law: http://www.unidroit.org/dynasite.cfm (provides text and additional information relating to the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts 2004)
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UNILEX: http://www.unilex.info (Resource for international case law & bibliography relating to the CISG and the UNIDROIT Principles) The Worldbank: http://www.worldbank.org World Intellectual Property Organization: http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en World Trade Organisation: www.wto.org
Materials to be accessed online learnonline course site
All other course related materials can be accessed through: http://learn.unisa.edu.au/course/view.php?id=106727
myUniSA
All study related materials can be accessed through: https://my.unisa.edu.au
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Assessment
Assessment Details
Details of assessment submission and return are listed under each assessment task. Assessment tasks will be returned to you within two to three weeks of submission. If submitting in hard copy, please attach an Assignment Cover Sheet which is available on the learnonline student help and in myUniSA.
Assessment Summary
# Form of assessment Length Duration Weighting Due date (Adelaide Time) Submit via Objectives being assessed CO1
1
Individual Assignment: Legal Problem Solving Group Assignment: Presentation Open book examination
1500 words
N/A
35%
30 Mar 2013, learnonline 11:00 PM 7 Jun 2013, 5:00 PM exam learnonline
2
500 word written summary N/A
15 minutes
15%
CO2, CO3, CO4
3
2.5 hours
50%
In person
CO1, CO2, CO3, CO4
Assessments
Assessment #1 - Individual Assignment: Legal Problem Solving (Graded)
Submission of the Individual Assignment via AssignIT In the individual assignment must be submitted online using AssignIT only. AssignIT is a UniSA service that facilitates the online submission of assignments via a web-based interface. As this is a text-based assignment it must be submitted electronically using AssignIT. This is University policy. If you are unable to comply with this requirement please contact the course coordinator for permission to be exempt from the policy. An essential guide which explains how to use AssignIT can be found at http://www.unisa.edu.au/helpassignIT/students/default.asp.
However, please note the following key points: . Open the AssignIT: home page by accessing: http://assignit.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/ . Log-on details: log-on using your UniSA student user name and password . Assignment template: When you submit your individual assignment using AssignIT, you must use the individual assignment template downloaded from the online course materials . Email notification of receipt: When using AssignIT to submit assignments, you will receive an email notification to confirm that your assignment has been submitted. . Return of assignments: Assignments may be returned via AssignIT, in the tutorial or by post. If the marked assignment is returned online you will receive an email notification and you will be able to view your mark on myUniSA. If the marked assignment is returned in hard copy, the result will be recorded by the course coordinator, and you will be able to view your mark on myUniSA.
If your assignment has not been returned to you within three weeks of your submitting it, you must inform your tutor. Claims that an assignment was submitted and has been lost will not be entertained after this time. The assignment will then be deemed not submitted and given a mark of zero.
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Before you begin your assignments you should download the relevant assignment template from the Course online Materials, and carefully read Appendix 1- Presentation of Assignments and Other Papers in this Course Information book. APPENDIX 1 - PRESENTATION OF ASSIGNMENTS The following notes are provided to assist students in their written work. General Layout Students must use the Assignment Template provided on the course website. The assignment should consist of a title page, the text of the paper and references.
Text of the Paper The text of a paper should never be in note form or bullet points. However, the use of appropriate headings may be advantageous.
Referencing and Quotations Referencing Whenever you use information, concepts and ideas from other sources (including but not limited to books, journals, newspapers, online and Internet resources) you have to make reference to these resources. The School of Commerce uses the Harvard Referencing System, which is an in text author-date system. In their assignments students should use this Harvard style for their references. However, even under the Harvard Referencing System it is essential to pinpoint a reference by stating the relevant page number; e.g. "Mo (2009, p. 236) states that…" The UniSA Learning Connection provides a guide to the Harvard style referencing and an online on Harvard style referencing at: http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/studying/referencing.asp Quotations Selective use of short quotations can provide a valuable avenue for validating your use of bibliographic items, as well as for adding authority to views you are putting forward in the paper. At the same time care needs to be taken that they are not used instead of your own words and views. Quoted material is to be reproduced verbatim from the reference and clearly delineated as a quotation by means of single quotation marks and the source properly acknowledged by means of the Harvard Referencing System. Items which are not exact quotations or are not clearly delineated must be avoided as unsuitable. Citing Cases When first mention a case you should give the full citation within the text in the form illustrated by the following examples: "FCT v Clarke (1927) 40 CLR 246"; "Coles Myer Finance Ltd v FCT 93 ATC 4214". All case names (Names of the parties) are to be put in italics or – in handwritten exams - underlined.
If you use the case another time you can refer to the case by using the name: e.g. "in FCT v Clarke" or "in Clarke's case". Where a reference is made to a particular page of a case say, page 249 of the Clarke case) that
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page should be cited: "FCT v Clarke (1927) 40 CLR 246 at 249". If you use cases from the textbook or sources other than the original case you need to acknowledge this accordingly: e.g. "ANZ Banking Group Ltd v Richardson [1980] Qd R 321 cited in Graw 2007, p.158" or simply "ANZ Banking Group Ltd v Richardson [1980] Qd R 321 (1990) 102 ALR 289 (Graw 2007, p. 158)". Citing Statutes If the entire section of a statute is to be quoted, it must be identified by section number and then the quotation indented in the usual way. However, in assignment you normally should not quote large pieces of legislation. Where only a phrase is being quoted, this should be included within the text of the paper. A citation to an Australian Act should include the short title of the Act and the year in which the Act was passed in italics. This is followed by an abbreviated form of the jurisdiction in which the Act was passed in round brackets. The jurisdiction should not appear in italics. For example: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth); Aboriginal Lands Act 1995 (Tas). If possible you should pinpoint the reference by indicating the section, subsection and paragraph: e.g. Partnership Act 1891 (SA) s 2(1)(a).
Problem Question (maximum 1,500 words) Nader Kamal El-Hadidi Ltd (NKEH) is an Egyptian import/export company specialising in recycling lead. They import lead scrap, remelt the lead in their smelters around Alexandria (Egypt) to produce lead ingots and export the lead ingots mainly to countries in Western Europe. Big Buck Metals Pty Ltd (BBM) is an Australian metal recycler and exporter, located in Port Adelaide. They collect all kinds of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal in South Australia and export it world-wide. NKEH ordered 7,000 tons of scrap lead from BBM. The order sent by fax was for 2,000 tons of ‘Mixed Scrap Lead’ (equivalent to ISRI code RADIO) to be delivered to the port of Alexandria ‘on or about 10 January 2012’. And further 2,000 tons of ‘Battery Plates Lead’ (equivalent to ISRI code RAILS) to be delivered before 20 January 2012. The remainder of the scrap lead was to be delivered in equal parts made up of ‘Mixed Scrap’ and ‘Battery Plates’ and was due to arrive in Alexandria exactly on 3 March 2012 for NKEH had already organised re-shipping to Dubai with a vessel that would only be in the port of Alexandria on two days and would leave on 4 March 2012. NKEH informed BBM that eventually all the ordered scrap metal was intended to be shipped to Dubai with the vessel leaving on 4 March 2012. NKEH also told BBM that processing the first two deliveries (melting the scrap lead down and pouring lead ingots) would take 30 days and that they had to deliver the ingots and the remainder of the scrap lead to Dubai with the particular vessel leaving Alexandria on 4 March 2012. BBM accepted the order by sending a confirmation fax back to NKEH. Despite the fact that the initial two deliveries had been paid for in advance by NKEH, the first delivery of 2,000 tons of ‘Mixed Scrap Lead’ did not arrive. However, 4,000 tons of scrap lead arrived on 19 January 2012. On 28 January 2012, NKEH heard through the trade that BBM was in financial difficulty and was possibly unable to deliver the remainder of the scrap lead on time. Worried about whether they would be able to make their shipment to Dubai in time NKEH started on the same day to examine the delivered scrap lead and discovered that 75% of the delivery (3,000 tons) consisted of ‘Battery Plates’. In addition, the ‘Mixed Scrap’ contained a large quantity of alloys. On 2 February 2012 NKEH wrote a fax to BBM complaining about the delivery and asking for the immediate delivery of the 2,000 tons of ‘Mixed Scrap Lead’ which were meant to be delivered by 10 January 2012. NKEH also told BBM that despite the poor quality of the goods they will keep the delivered 4,000 tons of scrap lead, but wish to cancel the remaining order, as they had lost the confidence in BBM’s ability to deliver on time. Advise NKEH as to their rights and obligations against BBM. The feedback forms for this assessment are located at: http://learn.unisa.edu.au/file.php?file=/fbf/105406/Individual_Assignment_Feedback_Form.docx
Assessment #2 - Group Assignment: Presentation (Graded)
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This assignment consists of a presentation to the tutorial class, a written summary to be distributed to members of the tutorial class and a group report. The assignment will assess the Graduate Qualities 2, 4, 6 & 7. Groups. For the details of the Group Assignment presentation, please refer to your moodle website. Submission of Report The signed original of the report including attachments has to be submitted in hardcopy no later than Friday, 17:00hrs Adelaide time after the actual presentation. In addition, the tutor may request that core of the report (without self assessment) are submitted in electronic form (by email or AssignIT). Marking Criteria and Marks for the Group Assignment The marking criteria for the group assignment are set out in the feedback form below. As a general rule all group members will be awarded the same grade, only in exceptional cases individual students will receive a grade varying from the group grade (see above Peer and Self -Assessment). The hardcopy of the group report including a grade will be returned to the group leader within 10-15 working days. The grades for all group members will be recorded in AssignIT. The individual self assessment forms will not be returned. The feedback forms for this assessment are located at: http://learn.unisa.edu.au/file.php?file=/fbf/105406/Group_Assignment_Feedback_Form.docx
Assessment #3 - Open book examination (Graded)
EXAM This course involves supervised assessment which is an end-of-study period exam. The exam will assess your knowledge of International Commercial Law and test your problem solving skills. The overall duration of the exam will be 2 hours 30 mins. Although the official reading time is only 10 minutes, we recommend strongly that you use the first 20-30 minutes for reading, making notes and developing an answer plan. The exam will be an open book exam which means you may bring into the exam any non-electronic materials such as textbooks, study guide, lecture notes, tutorial answers legislation, etc. For equity reasons, books borrowed from the libraries of UniSA are not allowed during the exams. Your mark for this course will be the aggregate of your assignment and exam marks. To pass the course your aggregate mark must exceed 50%, AND you must achieve at least 35% in the final exam. Past exam papers are included at the end of the Study & Tutorial Guide.
Supplementary Assessment
Supplementary assessment is not available for this course.
Important information about all assessment
All students must adhere to the University of South Australia's policies about assessment: http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp .
Students with disabilities or medical conditions
Students with disabilities may be entitled to a variation or modification to standard assessment arrangements. Information for students with disabilities is available at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/disabilityservices/support/default.asp .
Variations to assessment tasks
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Variation to assessment methods, tasks and timelines can be provided in:
1.
Unexpected or exceptional circumstances, for example bereavement, unexpected illness (details of unexpected or exceptional circumstances for which variation can be considered are discussed in clauses 7.5 & 7.6 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variation to assessment in unexpected or exceptional circumstances should be discussed with your course coordinator as soon as possible. Special circumstances, for example religious observance grounds, or community services (details of special circumstances for which variation can be considered are discussed in clause 7.8 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variations to assessment in expected circumstances must be requested within the first two weeks of the course (or equivalent for accelerated or intensive teaching).
2.
More information about variation to assessment may be found by consulting the relevant policy: http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp (sections 3 and 7).
Academic Integrity
The University aims to foster and preserve the scholarly values of inquiry, experimentation, critical appraisal and integrity, and to foster these values in its students. Academic integrity is a term used at university to describe honest behaviour as it relates to all academic work (for example papers written by staff, student assignments, conduct in exams, etc) and is the foundation of university life. One of the main principles is respecting other people's ideas and not claiming them as your own. Anyone found to have used another person's ideas without proper acknowledgement is deemed guilty of Academic Misconduct and the University considers this to be a serious matter. The University of South Australia wants its students to display academic integrity so that its degrees are earned honestly and are trusted and valued by its students and their employers. To ensure this happens and that students adhere to high standards of academic integrity and honesty at all times, the University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct for all students. Work submitted electronically by students for assessment will be tested using the text comparison software Turnitin . More information about academic integrity and what constitutes academic misconduct can be found in Section 9 of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM) at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/ or on the Learning and Teaching Unit website at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/ltu/integrity/default.asp
Submission and return of assessment tasks
See above under Assessment Details.
Evaluation of the course
This course will be evaluated using the: Course Evaluation Instrument, and Student Evaluation of Teaching Instrument
Conceded and Terminating Passes
Conceded and Terminating passes are available in this course.
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Course Calendar
Study Period 2 - 2013
Weeks 18 - 24 February 25 February - 03 March 1 2 3 4 04 - 10 March 11 - 17 March 18 - 24 March 25 - 31 March Topic Pre-teaching Pre-teaching Introduction & Course Overview Terminology & Applicable Law International Sale of Goods International Sale of Goods Contracts relating to IP rights Individual Assignment: Legal Problem Solving due 30 Mar 2013, 11:00 PM Easter Monday 1/04/2013 Adelaide Cup Day 11/03/2013 Tutorial Assessment Details (Adelaide Time) Public Holidays
5 6
01 - 07 April 08 - 14 April 15 - 21 April 22 - 28 April
Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods by Sea & Air Payment in International Trade Mid-break Mid-break Marine Insurance and International Trade Foreign Direct Investment The World Trade Organisation Regional Trade Agreements Dispute Resolution: Courts Dispute Resolution: Arbitration Revision Swot-vac Group Assignment: Presentation due 07 Jun 2013, 5:00 PM
Anzac Day 25/04/2013
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
29 April - 05 May 06 - 12 May 13 - 19 May 20 - 26 May 27 May - 02 June 03 - 09 June 10 - 16 June 17 - 23 June
Queen's Birthday 10/06/2013
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24 - 30 June 01 - 07 July
Exam week Exam week
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