The Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) is offering a free online course on International Investment Law. Applicants who want to enroll in this course should have knowledge of the fundamentals of International Law (subjects and sources of International Law/ principles governing international responsibility).

In this course, applicants will learn the features and dynamics of an important field of international law that grants rights to foreign investors to foster States’ development. The course will start on January 21, 2019.

Course At A Glance

Length: 10 weeks
Effort:  6-8 hours pw
Subject: Law
Institution: Catholic University of Louvain (UCL)
Languages: English
Price: Free
Certificate Available: Yes, Add a Verified Certificate for $150
Session: Course Starts on January 21, 2019

Providers’ Details

The Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), founded in 1425, is one of Europe’s oldest universities. The university has more than 28,000 students from bachelor’s level to doctorate and adult continuing education, in all disciplines. With its main campus located in Louvain-la-Neuve, next to Brussels, the university attracts every year 5,000 international students from more than 120 countries. UCL is ranked first among Belgium’s French-speaking universities (QS World University Ranking).

About This Course

Are you aware of controversial situations opposing States and foreign investors in relation to the protection of public health and the environment? Do you remember the recent case examples, Philip Morris v Uruguay and Vattenfall v Germany?

In the aftermath of these high profile cases, policy-makers, civil society organizations and domestic constituencies came to realize the societal importance of international investment law. From this realization, came passionate and sometimes ill-informed discussions about the features of international investment law, which grants rights to foreign investors to foster States’ development and reform it. Central to these discussions were the issues of:

• The promotion of sustainable development in international investment law.
• The balance between the protection of foreign investors and the right of host States to regulate to protect public welfare objectives.
• The legitimacy of arbitration tribunals to rule over disputes between host States and foreign investors.

Why Take This Course?

In this law course, you will:

• Discover the history of international investment law and understand the dynamics shaping its evolution.
• Learn the objectives of international investment law and the specific rights it grants to foreign investors.
• Be able to evaluate how those rights are interpreted by arbitration tribunals.
• Master the features and functioning of investment arbitration.
• Understand why international investment law and investment arbitration are criticized and be able to assess the soundness of these criticisms.
• Gain insight into the content of treaties newly concluded, for instance, the CETA between the European Union and Canada, and be able to assess how they address the issues of the right of States to regulate and of the legitimacy of arbitration tribunals.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Relate the history and evolution of international investment law and comment on current controversies and criticisms
• Analyze the law and practice of international investment law
• Understand the functioning of investment arbitration

Instructors

Yannick Radi

Yannick Radi is Professor of Public International Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Louvain. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Brill Research Perspectives in International Legal Theory and Practice.

Requirements

• Knowledge of the fundamentals of International Law (subjects and sources of International Law/ principles governing international responsibility). Such knowledge may be acquired by the successful completion of Louv5x – International Law.
• In addition, students should be familiar with the requirements of graduate-level courses and should preferably have already followed some law courses in order to be familiar with legal concepts and legal language.

How To Join This Course

• Go to the course website link
• Create an edX account to SignUp
• Choose “Register Now” to get started.
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