All students will be enrolled in four separate one-credit hour courses focusing on International Law focusing on South America. Classes will generally meet during the mornings, Monday through Thursday, leaving afternoons and three-day weekends free for social events and travel. All courses will be conducted in English. This program includes the following modules:
Globalization and Trade
International Human Rights Law
Constitutionalism in South America
International Sales Law
The course will cover current selected issues in globalization and International Trade Law. We will consider the impact of globalized trade worldwide and in the U.S. Those who favor free trade agreements and other types of trade liberalization argue that global trade results in a more efficient allocation of resources worldwide which leads to lower prices and more employment. Supporters contend that free trade will increase economic prosperity for all, especially for the populations of developing nations. Domestic critics of economic globalization focus in part on the loss of jobs in the U.S. and the avoidance of strong environmental protections by moving production to other countries where environmental laws are less strict.
We will study global trade within the context of U.S. domestic trade law and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Specific areas of study will include tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers such as subsidies, most favored nation status, and the WTO dispute resolution process. We will also compare free trade areas with customs unions and study regional trade organizations such as NAFTA, Mercosur, and the European Union.
This course deals with some selected issues of international human rights law through Latin American cases and situations. Particular emphasis will be placed to the study of the Inter-American system.
The countries of South America have a long history of experimenting with constitutionalism. In particular, Argentina, Brazil and Chile have drafted and implemented several different constitutions during the 19th and 20th centuries. These documents have employed traditional constitutional themes and structures. To the uninitiated, these various texts look very much like constitutions found in the United States and Europe. In fact, the U.S. Constitution and constitutions in Europe (particularly the various French and German Constitutions) have served as "models" for the different iterations of South American Constitutions. When one looks deeper, however, it becomes apparent that while the text of the Argentine, Brazilian and Chilean Constitutions may often be identical (or at least very similar) to their U.S. or European progenitors, these texts invariably mean very different things in the context of South American legal culture and practice.
In this class we will begin by looking at the history of modern constitutionalism, exploring the various models of modern constitutionalism that have developed during the last 300 years. We will discuss the parameters of modern constitutionalism, and evaluate the efficacy of constitutionalism as a political and legal movement. We will then look specifically at the text of the Constitution of Argentina, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Brazil, and the Constitution of Chile. We will compare each of these documents to the basic parameters we developed with regard to modern constitutionalism, discussing the similarities and differences. We will then have a chance to discuss these similarities and differences with a constitutional scholar from each of these countries, who will illuminate how the constitutional ideas (and ideals) we may be familiar with play out within Argentina, Brazil and Chile. This discussion will make clear that constitutionalism is many-varied idea, and the concepts commonly associated with constitutionalism (e.g., democracy, divided government, judicial review and rights regimes) are open to contestation and interpretation.
This short course will focus on the law governing the international sale of goods. The core of the course will be the study of the Convention on the International Sales of Goods (the "CISG", as you will come to know it). While little known or understood by U.S. practitioners, the CISG is actually the substantive law that will apply by default to international sales of goods when the parties involved are from any of the 70 signatory nations. Among the signatory nations are the U.S. and Argentina. I say that it will apply "by default" because parties are at liberty to specify a different substantive law in their agreement governing their transaction. However, where no substantive law has been specified and the parties are from signatory nations, then the CISG will apply. Accordingly, a thorough understanding of the CISG is crucial for any lawyer involved with international trade. The course materials will consist solely of the text of the CISG, available on-line at: http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cisg/text/treaty.html. Tulsa students enrolled in this course may not receive credit for international Sales Law taught in Tulsa.