GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6230 / JDOC6230 |
| Course name: | Law and Practice of Investment Treaty Arbitration |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
This course has three distinctive features. First, it examines the development of international investment treaty arbitration as a mode of transnational governance. Second, it compares international commercial arbitration (ICA) and international investment arbitration (ISA), including with respect to the evolution of arbitral procedure, precedent, and lawmaking. Third, it surveys a variety of explanations for why the arbitral order has evolved as it has – into a more autonomous, “judicial-like” legal order – focusing on the activities of arbitrators, the role of state regulatory competition, and the reasoning of tribunals in their awards. The course is not an introduction to arbitration.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Alec Stone Sweet | asweet@hku.hk | CCT 903 | By email |
LEARNING OUTCOMES
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Achieve familiarity with the main approaches to ISA, as they relate to the institutional evolution of the arbitral system.
CLO 2 Consider and evaluate the factors that have driven the “judicialization” of arbitration from a relatively simple system of “dispute resolution,” into a more court-like system.
CLO 3 Develop capacity to analyze arbitral awards, in particular, to identify the key parts of important awards in which tribunals develop new interpretations of law.
CLO 4 Reflect upon the main debates among scholars, arbitrators, judges concerning international arbitration’s political legitimacy, and develop their own views.
2.2 LLM Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
ASSESSMENT(S)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Two response papers | TBC | 30% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | |
| Take home exam | 10 Dec 2022 | 70% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s).
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
LEARNING ACTIVITES
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 5 hours (ie. 150 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
LEARNING RESOURCES
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/