Education
A key objective of the Center is to provide students with a challenging learning environment in which they can participate in — and draw on — the various activities carried out by the Center. In addition, seminars and courses at Columbia provide students with the opportunity to deal with FDI matters — or issues related to it — in detail.
International Investment Syllabus Project - Courses (Law) - Courses (Columbia)
International Investment Syllabus Project
One immediate result of the Second Columbia International Investment Conference, “What’s Next in International Investment Law and Policy?” (October 30-31, 2007), was the launch of an international investment “syllabus project”. Professor Andrea K. Bjorklund (akbjorklund@ucdavis.edu), from University of California at Davis, School of Law, is leading the effort on behalf of the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment.
The ultimate objective of the project is to construct a model syllabus for international investment law and make it available to institutions of higher learning throughout the world, especially in emerging markets. The first step in achieving this objective was to ascertain what classes are currently being offered and their content. Therefore, we have collected syllabi in the area of international investment law and related public policy issues and are making them available on the Center's website. The second step will be a consultative process involving investment professionals, including academics, arbitrators, counsel, and government officials, to examine the syllabi gathered, identify lacunae, and discuss different models for investment law instruction. Finally, we will put together a model syllabus for a course on international investment law.
We invite international investment law and policy scholars to send their course syllabi to Professor Bjorklund at (akbjorklund@ucdavis.edu).
Foreign Direct Investment and Public Policy
This seminar, led by Dr. Karl P. Sauvant, addresses the role of foreign direct investment (FDI), as undertaken by transnational corporations (TNCs) (or multinational enterprises), in the economic growth and development of host countries and national policy and regulatory issues this role raises. More specifically, it begins with a brief review of TNC strategies, before looking at the salient features of FDI and the factors that drive its expansion and that will be doing so in the future (especially emerging market TNCs, offshoring). An assessment of the role of FDI in trade, the transfer of technology and competition (especially as regards mergers and acquisitions) follows. While the discussion of the impact of FDI will deal with policy and regulatory issues, the remainder of the seminar focuses entirely on the role that policies, laws and regulations can play in maximizing the positive and minimizing the negative effects of TNCs, starting with an examination of tensions over FDI and TNC activity, and continuing with issues related to policies to attract FDI, host and home country policies, corporate social responsibility and the rise of international investment agreements. A debate about whether or not FDI contributes to economic growth and development, and policy issues related to this question, concludes the seminar.
The seminar was first offered in the spring semester of 2005/2006 and then again in the fall semesters of 2006/2007 and 2007/2008.
It is currently being offered for the 2008/2009 fall semester. Please email Lisa Sachs for the full syllabus.
Foreign Investment
This seminar, led by Prof. José E. Alvarez, examines domestic laws, particularly within the United States, bilateral treaties, regional arrangements (such as the NAFTA), and international organizations (such as the WTO) insofar as these regulate either incoming or outgoing foreign investment. The emphasis is on the regulatory schemes that affect foreign investment as well as the underlying policy rationales offered for these. Attention will be given to the pros and cons with respect to foreign investment, especially given recent critiques of globalization and the connections between foreign investment flows and economic development. The focus is on foreign direct investment, that is, ownership subject to active control and not passive investment (as through stock ownership).
This seminar was last offered in the spring semester of 2007/2008.
International Investment Arbitration
This seminar, led by Prof. Pieter Bekker, deals with various forms of international commercial arbitration. The International Arbitration Rules of the International Chamber of Commerce, the American Arbitration Association, UNCITRAL, and the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes are given special attention. Problems of foreign and American law relating to the drafting of arbitration agreements, the conduct of arbitration proceedings, and the enforceability of arbitral awards are studied. The stress is on practical aspects. The aim of the course is to prepare for the actual conduct of an arbitration proceeding.
This course was first offered in the spring semester of 2007/2008 and will be offered again in the spring semester of 2008/2009.
Transnational Litigation and Arbitration
This course, led by Prof. George Bermann, covers the basic procedural problems that occur in disputes arising out of transactions that cross national boundaries. The focus is on access to American courts by foreign litigants, jurisdiction over foreign defendants, parallel litigation, pleading and proof of foreign law, effecting service and obtaining evidence abroad (particularly in light of foreign blocking measures), transnational provisional relief, immunities and defenses (e.g., foreign sovereign immunity, sovereign compulsion, and act of state), international human rights litigation in US courts, and the enforcement of foreign judicial judgments. An entire chapter of the course is devoted to the procedural aspects of international commercial arbitration and the relationship between arbitral tribunals and courts.
This course was last offered in the spring semester of 2007/2008.
International Commercial Arbitration
This course, led by Prof. Hans Smit, deals with various forms of international commercial arbitration. The International Arbitration Rules of the International Chamber of Commerce, the American Arbitration Association, UNCITRAL, and the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes are given special attention. Problems of foreign and American law relating to the drafting of arbitration agreements, the conduct of arbitration proceedings, and the enforceability of arbitral awards are studied. The stress is on practical aspects. The aim of the course is to prepare for the actual conduct of an arbitration proceeding. Various writing exercises are included.
This course was offered in the fall semester of 2007/2008.
Seminar in US Foreign Economic Policy
This seminar, led by Prof. Richard N. Gardner, is by application only. Members of the seminar will act as a bipartisan Presidential advisory group reviewing current issues in U.S. foreign economic policy. The political and economic as well as the legal aspects of each issue will be examined, with particular attention to actions that should be taken by Congress and the U.S. Administration. The seminar will draw upon Prof. Gardner's current work as a member of the State Department's Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy and his past work on the President's Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations.
This seminar was last offered in the spring semester of 2007/2008.
Related courses
Apart from the over 50 courses relating to international and comparative law it offers on an annual basis, the Columbia Law School also has one of the richest curriculums on corporate law and international business of any US law school. The listing below indicates those courses and seminars that were offered in the 2007-2008 academic year, to check on further details of these courses go to the Curriculum Guide.
| José E. Alvarez | International Law |
| Law of Global Governance and Regulation | |
| Mark Barenberg | Labor Rights in a Global Economy (seminar) |
| Norman Bartczak | Financial Statement Analysis & Interpretation |
| George Bermann and Katharina Pistor | Lawyering across Multiple Legislative Orders (First-year Elective) |
| George Bermann, Petros Mavroidis and Kyle Bagwell |
WTO Law (seminar) |
| John Coffee, Jr. | Securities and Capital Markets |
| Lori Damrosch | International Law |
| Enforcing International Law (seminar) | |
| Scholarship in International Law (seminar) | |
| Michael Doyle | Global Constitutionalism |
| Anthony Ewing | Transnational Business and Human Rights (seminar) |
| Jill Fisch | Securities and Capital Markets |
| Caird Forbes-Cockell | International Financial Transnactions |
| Merritt Fox and Larry Gloston |
Law & Economics of Capital Markets |
| Alejandro Garro | International Business Transactions in Latin America (seminar) |
| Ronald Gilson and Victor Goldberg |
Deals |
| Ronald Gilson and Curtis Milhaupt |
Law, Governance and Capitalism (seminar) |
| Harvey Goldschmid | Corporations |
| Harvey Goldschmid and Philip Lochner |
Corporation and Modern Society (seminar) |
| Jeffrey Gordon | Advanced Corporate Law: Mergers & Aquisitions |
| Jeffrey Gordon and Jesse Fried |
Current issues in Corporate Governance |
| Zohar Goshen | Corporations |
| Law & Economics of Coporations & Securities Markets (seminar) | |
| Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin | Deals Workshop: The Art of the Deal (seminar) |
| Scott Hemphill | Antitrust and Trade Regulation |
| Mitchell Kane | Corporate Taxation |
| Tax and Development (seminar) | |
| Arthur Kaufman | Deals Workshop: The Art of the Deal (seminar) |
| Igor Kirman and Trevor Norwitz |
Deals Workshop: Mergers & Acquisitions (seminar) |
| Jonathan Klick | Corporate Finance |
| P. Nicholas Kourides and Paul Lee |
International Banking & Financial Law (seminar) |
| Tamara Lothian | International Finance: Law, Money & Banking in the Global Economy (seminar) |
| Petros Mavroidis and Jagdish Bhagwati |
Law of the WTO |
| Petros Mavroidis and Merit Janow |
Comparative and International Antitrust Law (seminar) |
| James McHugh | Deals Workshop: The Art of the Deal (seminar) |
| Curtis Milhaupt | Corporations |
| Harvey Miller | Corporate Reorganization and Bankruptcy |
| Richard Miller and Stephen Selig |
Derivatives Law & Regulation (seminar) |
| Edward Morrison and Scott Hemphill |
Law and Economics (seminar) |
| Owen Nee | International Business & Investment Transactions with China (seminar) |
| Ilan Nissan | Deals Workshop: Transactional Legal Strategies (seminar) |
| Katharina Pistor | Corporations |
| Katharina Piston and Michael Doyle |
Global Governance (seminar) |
| Katharina Pistor and Tamara Lothian |
Globalization in Comparative Perspective |
| Donald Rapson | Secured Transactions |
| Alex Raskolnikov | Taxation of Financial Instruments |
| Joeng-ho Roh | Contemporary Issues in Business Law: South & North Korea |
| Charles Sable and William Simon |
Regulation: Decentralization and Globalization |
| Silke Sahl | Adavnce Legal Research: International Law (seminar) |
| William Savitt | Deals Litigation |
| Olivier de Schutter | Globalization & Human Rights (seminar) |
| Scott Semer | Deals Workshop: The Art of the Deal (seminar) |
| Joel Slemrod | Tax Policy and the Law |
| Hans Smit | Conflict of Laws and Jurisdictions: National/International |
| International Commercial Arbitration | |
| Richard Stone | Corporate Taxation |
| Gail Suchman | Environmental Justice & Sustainable Development (seminar) |
| Steven Thel | Securities and Capital Markets |
| Mark Vecchio | Strategic International Commercial Transactions (seminar) |
| Wallace Wang and Sean Tang |
Corporate Governance in Greater China (seminar) |
| Mark Yecies | Corporate Transactional Taxation (seminar) |
Related courses in other departments at Columbia University
School of Public and International Affairs
| Eric A Verhoogen | Advanced Economic Development for Int'l Affairs | Fall 2008 |
| Fernando Barreira Sotelino | Banking and Capital Markets in Brazil |
Spring 2009 |
| Irene E Finel-Honigman | Banks and Markets in the New Europe: French & German Models & Legacies | Fall 2008 |
| Stuart M Gottlieb | Central Issues in American Foreign Policy | Fall 2008 |
| Daniel H Rosen | China's New Marketplace | Fall 2008 |
| Stephen R Sestanovich | Conceptual Foundations of International Politics | Fall 2008 |
| Ailsa Roell, Deborah McLean | Corporate Finance | Fall 2008, Spring 2009 |
| Ailsa A Roell | Corporate Governance & Public Policy | Fall 2008 |
| Clive Belfield | Cost-Benefit Analysis | Fall 2008, Spring 2009 |
| Edward V Beliaev | Current Developments in Russia | Fall 2008 |
| TBA TBA | Development Evaluation | Spring 2009 |
| Miguel Urquiola | Economic Development for International Affairs | Spring 2009 |
| Katherine Morgan | Economics of Finance | Spring 2009 |
| Charles Calomiris | Emerging Financial Markets | Spring 2009 |
| Bruce Wolfson Jorge Mariscal |
Emerging Financial Markets: Theory & Practice | Fall 2008 |
| Sara N Calvo | Emerging Market Investment Climate | Fall 2008 |
| Ellen Morris Philip Larocco |
Energy Business & Economic Development | Fall 2008 |
| Deborah Bleviss | Energy Policy | Fall 2008 |
| Sirkka Korpela | Extractive Industries: Rights and Development | Fall 2008 |
| Sara Calvo | Financial Issues in Latin America | Spring 2009 |
| Richard Goldberg | Future of Global Financial Institutions | Fall 2008, Spring 2009 |
| Richard Goldberg | Future of Global Financial Institutions | Fall 2008 |
| Jagdish Bhagwati | Globalization: Economic and Social Consequences and Appropriate Governance |
Spring 2009 |
| Arvind Panagariya | Indian Economy in Transition | Fall 2008 |
| Jeffrey D Sachs | Integrated Development Practice | Fall 2008 |
| Fernando Barreira Sotelino | International Banking | Fall 2008 |
| Irene Finel-Honigman, Fernando Sotelino | International Banking | Fall 2008, Spring 2009 |
| Richard Robb |
International Capital Markets | Fall 2008, Spring 2009 |
| Dan McIntyre Sekoukoureissy Conde | International Conflict Resolution: Africa | Fall 2008 |
| Civico, Aldo | International Conflict Resolution: Theories & Methods | Fall 2008 |
| David Nissen | International Energy Project Development | Spring 2009 |
| David Nissen | International Energy Systems & Business Structures | Fall 2008 |
| Amer R Bisat, Richard Clarida | International Finance & Monetary Theory |
Fall 2008, Spring 2009 |
| Alicia Ogawa |
International Finance & Policy Workshop | Fall 2008, Spring 2009 |
| Yasmine Ergas | International Law | Fall 2008, Spring 2009 |
| Arvind Panagariya, Eliza Patterson, Niklas J Westelius | International Trade |
Fall 2008, Spring 2009 |
| Klopp, Jacqueline | Introduction to International Development | Fall 2008 |
| Marber, Peter | Investment Strategies in Developing Countries | Fall 2008 |
| Jose Ocampo | Macroeconomic Policy & Development | Spring 2009 |
| Richard Thoman | Managing the Global Corporation | Spring 2009 |
| Roy Nersesian | Marine Energy Transportation, Technology, Economics & Policy | Spring 2009 |
| Eugenia McGill | Methods for Development Practice | Fall 2008 |
| Louise Schneider-Moretto | Microfinance & the Capital Markets | Fall 2008 |
| Jefferey Ashe | Microfinance and the Developing World | Fall 2008 |
| Elazar Barkan | Oil, Rights and Development | Spring 2009 |
| Irene King | Petroleum Markets & Trading | Spring 2009 |
| Thomas J Trebat | Political, Social & Economic Development in Brazil | Fall 2008, Spring 2009 |
| Thomas J Trebat | Problems of Economic Growth in Latin America | Fall 2008 |
| Roy L. Nersesian | Quantitative Methods-Energy/Policy Analysis | Fall 2008 |
| Robert Kopech | Role of the Local Financial Sector in Development |
Spring 2009 |
| W. Bentley MacLeod | Seminar in Law, Economics and Development |
Fall 2008, Spring 2009 |
| Claude Henry | Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Goals | Spring 2009 |
| David Nissen | The Economics Of Energy | Fall 2008 |
| Seamus C O'Cleireacain | The Transatlantic Economy | Fall 2008 |
| Guillermo Calvo | Topics in International Finance | Spring 2009 |
| Ken Shubin Stein | Advanced Investment Research | Spring 2009 |
| Andrew Hertzberg | Corporate Finance | Spring 2009 |
| Frederic Mishkin | Financial Markets and the Economy | MW - Full Term |
| Partha Mohanram | Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation | TR - Full Term |
| Trevor Harris | Fundamental Analysis for Investment & Management Decisions: A Practical Guide | Spring 2009 |
| Bogachan Celen | Game Theory and Incentives in Business | W - Full Term |
| Don Sexton |
Global Business Project | Spring 2009 |
| Veronica Rappoport | Global Economic Environment | Spring 2009 |
| Pierre Yared | Global Economic Environment | Spring 2009 |
| Maria Guadalupe | Global Immersion: Growth and Sustainability in Brazil |
Spring 2009 |
| Wei Jiang | Global Immersion: Investing in China | Spring 2009 |
| Joseph Plummer | Global Marketing | Spring 2009 |
| Camille Douglas | Global Real Estate Investment | Spring 2009 |
| Cliff Cramer | Healthcare Investment & Dealmaking | Spring 2009 |
| Fabio Savoldelli | Hedge Fund Investment & Selection | Spring 2009 |
| Robert Fallon | International Banking: Value and Risk | Spring 2009 |
| Amit Khandelwal | International Business | Spring 2009 |
| Robert Hodrick | International Financial Management | Spring 2009 |
| Shang-Jin Wei |
International Seminar China (EMBA Course International Seminars, Mar 8-14 Shanghai) | Spring 2009 |
| Rajeev Kohli | International Seminar India (EMBA Course International Seminars, Mar 8-14 Mumbai) | Spring 2009 |
| Carlos Singer | International Seminar Latin America (EMBA Course - International Seminars Mar 8-14 Brazil ) | Spring 2009 |
| Hal Vogel | Investing in Media & Entertainment | Spring 2009 |
| Paul Sonkin | Investment Analysis (Master Class) | Spring 2009 |
| Robert Willens | Investment Banking Tax Factors | Spring 2009 |
| Geoffrey Heal | New Developments in Energy Markets | Spring 2009 |
| Robert Dewing | Project Finance | Spring 2009 |
| Raymond Fisman | The Private Sector & International Development | Spring 2009 |
| Raymond Fisman | The Private Sector & International Development | M - Full Term |
| Bruce Greenwald | Value Investing | Spring 2009 |
Department of Political Science
| Pablo Pinto | Theory of International Political Economy |
| Political Economy of Trade and Investment | |
| Pablo Pinto and Erik Gartzke |
Globalization |
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