L14505 Global Litigation

This course aims at making students not only aware of the issues involved in litigating cross-border civil and commercial cases, but also capable to properly manage these problems from a global perspective, i.e. taking duly into account how the various jurisdictions involved address them.

This course offers an introduction to the problems that arise when litigation goes global, i.e. jurisdiction, applicable law and recognition of foreign judgments. It uses a comparative approach, examining differences and convergences in how these problems are answered by the main legal systems, notably EU and US law.

In the modern world, as national economies become more and more connected to each other and people increasingly move across the frontiers, we are faced with an increase in the number of civil and commercial cases having an ‘international’ (cross-border) dimension, i.e. whose elements are linked to more than one national legal order. Sometimes, these cases have a ‘global’ dimension, because a very great number of jurisdictions is involved: for example, a global cartel, distorting competition in the markets of many countries, causing damages to people residing therein; or the contractual relationships between a social network’s provider and users from all around the world.

Litigating disputes in these cases presents a number of special challenges. Which country’s courts have jurisdiction, and where is it advantageous to sue? What if similar claims are simultaneously brought before courts in different States? Given the international elements of the case, which country’s law will the court apply? Finally, if a successful plaintiff cannot find enough local assets, what does it take to have the judgment recognized and enforced in a country with assets?

This course deals with the questions above with a problem-oriented approach and through a comparative overview of legal systems. The answers to the litigation problems given by the EU private international law, in accordance with the civil law tradition, will thus be compared with other experiences, in particular with the Anglo-American common law approach.

The course will run under a workshop format requiring active students’ involvement. Lectures are held throughout the entire semester. Students are responsible for learning the material before coming to class and for providing a meaningful contribution to the discussion led by the instructor.

Students are responsible for consulting on a regular basis the website of the course on “my.liuc.it” where updates, additional material and slides about the course are posted.

Oral examination.

Further elements used in grading: class participation, attendance, assignments.