Posted: April 8th, 2015

Research Proposal (International Business & Law)

Research Proposal (International Business & Law)

Research Paper Topics

Select one of the following options as the topic of your research paper, or speak to the unit coordinator regarding the development of an individual topic tailored to your research interests.

Option 1

Documentary credit is an important method to effect payment in international sale of goods.  Documentary credit differs from other means of payment.

Discuss and critically analyse these statements with particular reference to the legal framework or frameworks that regulate the use and operation of documentary credit.

Option 2

UNCITRAL’s Guide to Enactment and Interpretation of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency states (at p 19) :

The UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, adopted in 1997, is designed to assist States to equip their insolvency laws with a modern, harmonized and fair framework to address more effectively instances of cross-border proceedings concerning debtors experiencing severe financial distress or insolvency. … The Model Law reflects practices in cross-border insolvency matters that are characteristic of modern, efficient insolvency systems. Thus, the States enacting the Model Law would be introducing useful additions and improvements in national insolvency regimes designed to resolve problems arising in cross-border insolvency cases.

Critically discuss whether the Model Law has introduced useful additions and improvements of Australia’s insolvency regime (or, with approval,* one of the other states that has adopted the Model Law).
*You must seek consent from your lecturer before proceeding with this topic in relation to any state other than Australia that has adopted the model law. Where that consent is forthcoming, all sources relied upon must be available in English.

Option 3

Consider the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding and the settlement of disputes in the context of the WTO. How does this compare to the Investor-state dispute clauses and the practical application of them? Use cases to explain the comparison and evaluate the effectiveness of these two different means for dispute settlement.

Option 4 – corrected

Can an arbitral tribunal join a holding company to the arbitration of a dispute between its wholly owned subsidiary (‘the buyer’) and another company (‘the seller’), in the following circumstances:

•    The buyer and the seller are parties to a contract for the international sale of goods.
•    The buyer and the seller have agreed that the laws of Brisbane apply to the contract of sale.
•    The holding company endorsed the contract by signing it as ‘endorser’ and took responsibility for ensuring the buyer performed its payment obligations under the contract of sale. The holding company was actively involved in all stages of the negotiation of the contract.
•    The buyer and the seller have agreed to arbitrate all disputes arising between them in relation to the contract of sale.
•    The arbitration agreement is contained within the contract of sale; it is in writing and signed by both the buyer and the seller, but not the holding company.
•    The agreement to arbitrate stipulates that the lex arbitri is Brisbane and that any dispute arising between the parties in relation to the contract is to be resolved in accordance with ICC Arbitration Rules 2012.
•    The holding company and the buyer object to joinder.

Your answer should address the inter-relationship between the group of companies doctrine, the doctrine of alter-ego and the doctrine of party autonomy.

Option 5

In what circumstances does an arbitral tribunal formed under the ICC Arbitration Rules 2012 have jurisdiction over a third party non-signatory? Critically analyse the manner in which the group of companies doctrine, the doctrine of party autonomy and the doctrine of alter ego operate in this context.

Option 6

Critically analyse and discuss the pros and cons of opting out of the CISG. Why should Australian sellers (and their lawyers) avoid opting out of the CISG in their contracts for the international sale of goods?