International Law Summer School
International Law Summer School 2023
The courses will take place on 2 May – 7 June, 2023 at Vytautas Magnus University Faculty of Law.
Pick the course(s) – 4 ECTS each:
2 – 11 May INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS (prof. Daniel Barnhizer, Michigan State University College of Law)
This course surveys the complex subject of international business transactions. This includes international sales of goods, financing international transactions, payment systems, establishing and operating foreign investments, operating under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and World Trade Organization, intellectual property and technology transfer, criminal law, dispute resolution, and other issues. All of these topics relate to one basic problem — how to engage in a business transaction with a foreign entity or person. In domestic trade, both parties are subject to the same sovereign government that controls the law and the sanctions that apply to the parties. The parties likely share a common language, similar business norms, and may even operate in the same financial circles. International business transactions involve issues of different governments, different locations, different laws, different languages (in many cases), different business norms, and other issues that potentially increase the complexity of the transactions by orders of magnitude. This course will give enough experience to be aware of some of these risks to be able to effectively advise clients or prepare a respond to those risks.
2 – 11 May FINANCIAL CRIMES (Kurt Caestecker, tax inspector and instructor)
This course will cover the following topics: Cryptocurrencies, an introduction and criminal abuse; Cryptocurrencies, illicit finances and criminal investigations; Money laundering and the war on drugs; Enablers; VAT and tax crimes; Tax fraud and terrorist financing; Corruption and bribery; How to get away with…money laundering.
15 – 24 May DIGITAL CONSTITUTIONALISM AND DUE PROCESS OF LAW (prof. Joao Paulo Lordelo, Brazilian Institute of Education, Development and Research (IDP))
This course examines the challenges derived from the so-called “fourth industrial revolution” from the perspective of due process of law, a constitutional clause so relevant that it is commonly confused with the rule of law itself. To this end, possible solutions arising from digital constitutionalism are exposed. Foreign law contributions will be brought, not only from the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights and the Supreme Court of the United States, but also from the constitutional courts of countries like South Africa, Germany and Brazil.
15 – 24 May INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW (prof. Jay Erstling, Mitchell Hamline School of Law)
The purpose of intellectual property law is to protect the rights of those who create original works. It encompasses everything from original plays and novels to inventions and product or service identifiers. The goal of intellectual property law is to encourage new technologies, artistic expressions, and inventions while promoting economic growth.
The objective of this course is to provide a general background in the major areas of intellectual property, including patents, copyrights, trademarks, geographical indications, and unfair competition. The concepts covered will include the nature of the different intellectual property rights, the scope of protection, exceptions to and limitations on the rights granted, enforcement, and the relationship between intellectual property and development. In addition, the course will examine some of the issues of current concern in intellectual property protection and the most significant treaties and agreements that attempt to regulate intellectual property on a global scale.
15 – 24 May EU CRIMINAL LAW AND POLICY (prof. Edita Gruodytė, Vytautas Magnus University)
29 May – 7 June MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS (prof. Arkadiusz Radwan, Vytautas Magnus University)
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) are pivotal moments in the life of companies. They involve a number of challenges for senior executives, shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders. They also raise a number of legal questions and require compliance with rules and regulations governing the deal preparation & structure, the acquisition process and the protection of various corporate constituencies. The course covers the key legal aspects of the M&A activity, including negotiated share deals, statutory mergers, merger alternatives, leveraged transactions (including MBO), hostile takeovers of listed companies, cross-border corporate reorganisations as well as some aspects of post-acquisition integration and follow-up disputes. The primary focus is on legal issues with other questions (financial, strategic, tactical) being integrated into the main thread. The course deals with M&A of European companies with some comparative (US) and some sectoral (financial, technology) add-ons.
29 May – 7 June HUMAN RIGHTS LAW (prof. Stefan Kirchner, University of Lapland)
The course will focus on describing the evolution of human rights in international law under treaties and international customary law, the small number and weak mechanisms to put into force these human rights, the limits to the enforcement of human rights in international law, and the content of some international human rights law.
The course will be taught by Stefan Kirchner, Associate Professor at Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland, who obtained his doctoral degree in Social Sciences (Law) from Vytautas Magnus University in 2012 and who currently serves, i.a., as vice-chair of the Space Law Interest Group of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) as well as in ASIL’s Steering Committee for the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Signature Topic and that Committee’s Space Subcommittee (please note that, as usual, all opinions expressed here or in the course are not attributable to any organization the lecturer is associated with).
29 May – 7 June CYBERCRIME (prof. Athina Sachoulidou, NOVA School of Law)
This course provides an insight into different aspects of cyber-criminality as well as of automation in law enforcement and criminal justice settings. It is divided into three parts: The first part examines the threats emerging in the online environment and leading eventually to commission of (cyber-)crimes and presents a selection of criminological theories that seek to explain wrongdoing and victimisation in the cyberspace. In the second part, the course participants will explore different types of cybercrimes. The focus will lie on attacks against information systems, financial crime in online settings (e.g., cyber extortion, online fraud, money laundering), and cyber terrorist offences. In the third part, the course participants will be introduced to the following topics: 1) the transition from electronic evidence to AI-generated evidence); 2) automation in law enforcement settings (with an emphasis on person-based predictive policing and AI-supported; collection of evidence); and 3) algorithmic criminal justice (with an emphasis on recidivism algorithms). As part of this analysis, this course will also address policymaking related questions in the area of cybersecurity (with an emphasis on the EU ecosystem).
Fee: 1 ECTS = 50 EUR.
Application: The deadline for submitting the application is 30 April, 2023.
Contact person:
Assoc. prof. Aušrinė Pasvenskienė
Jonavos st. 66, LT-44191 Kaunas
+370 37 327925
ausrine.pasvenskiene@vdu.lt
International Law Summer School 2022
International Law Summer School 2021
