Context:

It is important to remember that for an exporter, or importer, of goods the different contracts brought together under the term ‘law of international trade’ can seem complex.’

‘Official’ Assignment Question:

Critically discuss some of the contracts within the context of ‘law of international trade’ from the standpoint of an exporter or importer of goods shipped by sea. Prepare a business report, which considers the importance of the relevant documents (contracts) and any proposals that have been made for improving the position of importers and exporters.

Assignment Task:

1: The purpose of the assignment is to apply the Trade Law taught in the module to export or import scenarios of your choosing so that you can demonstrate how Trade Law works in practice rather than just theory.

2: The ‘export (or import) scenario’ is entirely up to you; perhaps it is a trading activity you would like to do after graduation involving trade between your home country and another country. Whichever scenario you choose, it will involve two
Specific countries, and importer and exporter and a specific product being shipped. For these you will investigate specific options regarding carriers, banks and insurance companies. Your scenario must involve shipping by sea (not by air) and it must not be solely within the EU.

3: The module sessions will show the key documents, laws and regulations that are relevant for the assignment. In particular, the ‘key documents’ are the documents that will come up in any trading scenario. There are also ‘checklists’ that a trader should follow to achieve success in shipping, getting paid, mitigating risk, and dealing with disputes should they arise.

4: Your paper should, in essence, follow this checklist for your specific scenario. It should be a business report showing that you have investigated the options for your trading scenario and analysed them in the context of the module. As with all business reports, you should recommend specific choices based on your scenario, assumptions and the evidence that you provide.

5: Examples of how to research options will be covered during the module: You should ‘shop around’ with different carriers and you should get different contracts from them. Is one contract better than other in terms of applicable law, dispute resolution or insurance terms? Another example would be to research financial institutions who deal with Letters of Credit for the countries involved—how should you choose one over another? Your recommendations should reflect analyse the trade-offs involved and justify your choices with solid arguments.

6: Although there is more focus on the application of the law to business scenarios, the laws themselves should not be ignored, so citing specific laws or cases to illustrate your points is important.