International Civil Procedure

ECTS Credits

10 ECTS Credits

Level of Study

Master

Full-time/Part-time

Full time

Teaching semester

Autumn

Place of Instruction

Bergen Law Faculty

Objectives and Content

There is an old saying that being right and being proven to be right at court are two different things. In the end, the value of rights depends on their enforceability - and on their prior determination in legal proceedings by courts and tribunals.

Legal proceedings in international cases raise numerous issues ranging from jurisdiction and procedure in cross-border proceedings to the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. Those issues are dealt with by the national law of a country. On the other hand, considerable efforts have been made to unify these rules and to simplify the formalities with a view to a rapid and simple system recognition and enforcement of judgments, both on the international level as well as within Europe.

The course deals with the problems raised by cross-border proceedings and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, and with the rules governing these issues. It follows a problem-based and comparative approach. With respect to the rules it will put an emphasis on the Lugano Convention, but also look at relevant EU Regulations and international instruments like Hague Conventions.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• understand the general concepts of international civil procedure, of jurisdiction and procedure in cross-border proceedings, and of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments;
• detect and discuss procedural problems in international cases;
• identify and interpret legal sources of international, European and national law, and to apply them to a set of facts.

Required Previous Knowledge

Three years of university studies

Recommended Previous Knowledge

Three years of Law studies

Access to the Course

The course is available for the following students:

• Admitted to the integrated master programme in law
• Admitted to the two-year master programme in law
• Granted admission to elective courses at the Faculty of Law
• Granted additional right to study following completed master degree in law at UiB
• Exchange students at the Faculty of Law

The pre-requirements may still limit certain students' access to the course

Teaching Methods and Extent of Organized Teaching

Lectures.

A mix of classic and Socratic method will be used. All students are therefore expected to prepare in advance for class and to participate in class discussions.

Compulsory Assignments and Attendance

Mandatory paper of min. 1500, max 1600 words. Students who have failed the paper will be given an opportunity to write a new paper prior to the school exam. The paper will be awarded a pass/no pass. No grade will be given.

Forms of Assessment

Exam only in semester with teaching.

Three hour digital school exam. No re-sits.

Information about digital examination can be found here:

http://www.uib.no/en/education/87471/digital-examination.

Exam language:

• Question paper: English
• Answer paper: English

Examination Support Material

Support materials allowed during school exam:

See section 3-5 of the Supplementary Regulations for Studies at the Faculty of Law at the University of Bergen.

In addition: Collection of relevant material supplied by the Faculty of Law

Special regulations about dictionaries:

• According to the Regulations for Studies, one dictionary is permitted support material during the examination. Bilingual dictionaries containing for example both Norwegian-English and English-Norwegian are considered as one dictionary.
• Bilingual dictionaries to/from the same two languages - for example Norwegian-English/English-Norwegian - in two different volumes are also considered as one dictionary (irrespective of publisher or edition).
• Dictionaries as described above cannot be combined with any other types of dictionaries.
• Any kind of combination which makes up more than two physical volumes is forbidden.
• In case a student has a special need for any other combination than the above mentioned, such combination has to be clarified with/approved by the course coordinator minimum two weeks before the exam. Students who have not been granted permission to have a special combination minimum two weeks before the exam will be subject to the usual regulations (Section 3-5) about examination support materials.

Grading Scale

A - E for passed, F for failed.

Subject Overlap

No academic overlapping with courses at the Law Faculty in Bergen.

Combines successfully with JUS278-2-A Comparative Private Law and JUS259-2-A Internasjonal privatrett (in Norwegian).

Course Evaluation

According to faculty routines

Course Coordinator

Professor II Volker Lipp.