Law course taught at Institut Mines-Télécom Business School (Paris) in September 2025
FIN 6902 – Mastère spécialisé Ingénieur d’Affaires International
Lecturer: Franck BEAUDOIN, Avocat
Duration of the course: 7 hours / 1 session
Updated on 20 October 2025
📋 Syllabus and Course Guidelines
🎯 Objectives
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
- Understand the legal framework of international trade;
- Be familiar with the main rules applicable to companies’ international activities (commercial law, distribution law, competition law, consumer law, company law, intellectual property law, import/export, taxation);
- Master the legal concepts required to secure and optimise international operations;
- Know the definition, criteria and legal regime of international contracts;
- Negotiate and draft international contracts;
- Anticipate risks and understand the mechanisms of international disputes;
- Use artificial intelligence in the legal field in a secure and responsible manner.
🧭 Course rationale and structure
This course, taught in English, addresses the international dimension of business law. It focuses on private international law, European Union law, and French law. It covers a wide range of legal issues through a multidisciplinary approach, including contract law, commercial law, distribution law, company law, intellectual property law, and the law applicable to the processing of personal data. It presents the rules governing companies’ international activities and identifies the legal issues to be considered in order to secure and optimise these activities.
From a practical perspective, the course examines the legal questions arising in the context of companies’ international operations, such as research and development, engineering, design, procurement, supplier relationship management, marketing and communication, sales, distribution, import, export, and international business development.
The course will be valuable to anyone involved in the international activities of a company.
We will see how mastering international business law helps to secure and optimise international operations, through five main themes:
- Legal framework of international business
- International contracts
- International disputes
- Key legal issues in international business
- Legal aspects of international business development
📚 Course outline
International Business Law
Legal guide to doing business internationally
Securing and Optimising International Operations
MODULE 1 – The legal framework of international business (1 hour)
- Definitions: public international law, private international law, international business law.
- Sources of international business law:
- State law
- Common law (e.g. English law)
- Civil law (e.g. French law)
- Federal law (e.g. United States law)
- Supranational law (e.g. European Union law)
- Treaties
- Lex Mercatoria
- UNCITRAL
- UNIDROIT
- Private international organisations (e.g. International Chamber of Commerce – ICC)
- The WTO and free trade agreements
- Conflicts of laws and jurisdictions
Collective case study during the session: determining the applicable law.
MODULE 2 – International contracts (2h)
- Definition and criteria of an international contract
- Applicable law:
- State law
- Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG)
- Lex Mercatoria
- UNIDROIT Principles
- Autonomous contract (without reference to any law)
- International public policy
- Contractual techniques (overview)
- Contractual liability, non-performance, damages, force majeure, hardship
- Penalties
- Jurisdiction and arbitration
- Incoterms
- Sales contract
- Manufacturing and purchasing contract
- Distribution contract
- Licence agreement
- Service contract
Contract and clause analysis
Collective case studies during the session:
- Identifying an international contract
- Negotiating and drafting an international commercial contract
- Renegotiating a contract by invoking force majeure or hardship
MODULE 3 – International disputes (1h)
- Judicial proceedings
- Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments
- International arbitration
- Mediation
Collective case studies during the session:
- Determining jurisdiction
- Negotiating and drafting an indemnity clause distinguishing between a final judgment not subject to appeal and an enforceable judgment
- Negotiating and drafting an exclusive or non-exclusive jurisdiction clause depending on the company’s interests
MODULE 4 – Key legal issues in international business (2h)
- Product safety and compliance
- Intellectual property
- Personal data processing
- Commercial law (retention of title, insolvency law)
- Distribution law
- Competition law (cartels, abuse of dominant position, State aid, dumping)
- Consumer law
- Financial markets law (inside information, insider dealing)
- International public procurement, calls for tenders
- Legal instruments for international payment: documentary credit
- Importing and exporting
- Taxation and invoicing (VAT, transfer pricing, withholding taxes, double taxation treaties)
- Business ethics, corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSR), compliance and risk management (money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, embargoes, international sanctions)
Collective case studies during the session:
- Strategies for protecting the intellectual property of a product
- Terminating an established commercial relationship
- Limiting the risk of non-payment when dealing with a financially distressed client or distributor
- Handling a dispute relating to the import of products into the European Union
MODULE 5 – Legal aspects of international expansion (1h)
- Joint venture
- Subsidiary
- Distributor
- International expansion plan
Collective case study during the session: identifying the main legal issues in an international expansion project.
✍️ Online lessons to be completed
The following table indicates the minimum online lessons to be completed. Students are encouraged to explore additional online lessons for a deeper understanding.
When only the module title is indicated, all lessons within that module are to be completed.
| MODULES / lessons | Indicative study time |
|---|---|
| Introduction to international law | 30 minutes |
| Overview of international business law | 30 minutes |
| The sources of international business law > The legal framework of international business | 25 minutes |
| Private international law | 1h |
| International dispute resolution > International dispute resolution > International arbitration > Mediation in international disputes | 50 minutes |
| Harmonised legal instruments for international contracts | 1h15 |
| The fundamentals of international contracts | 1h30 |
| Doing business internationally: sourcing, buying, and selling | 1h |
| Operating internationally | 2h |
| Developing internationally > How to develop business in a new country? | 20 minutes |
| Final exam | 30 minutes |
🧩 Teaching method
The course is delivered face-to-face and is based on active learning.
During class sessions, students have access to an online platform developed by the lecturer (i-law.co), which includes online lessons and exercises.
Each theme is presented orally by the lecturer, supported by slides designed to simplify and illustrate legal concepts (“legal design”). During these presentations, students are expected to participate actively and to ask questions. Interactive activities (quizzes, polls, role plays, etc.) are organised to encourage engagement.
To consolidate their knowledge, students are then invited to read the corresponding lessons on the i-law.co platform and to complete individual online exercises, which include both theoretical questions and practical cases. Collective case studies are subsequently organised in order to apply the knowledge acquired.
📑 Personal work required for students
There is no prerequisite.
During the sessions, students are expected to participate actively in class discussions.
Each student must complete all online lessons individually.
Personal work and restricted use of artificial intelligence (AI) – All questionnaires, assignments and assessments must be completed individually, without the use of AI-generated content.
The use of digital tools (including AI) is permitted only:
- for personal or documentary research outside the context of an assessment, or
- where an activity explicitly authorises such tools for pedagogical purposes (e.g. critical analysis of AI-generated text).
📊 Assessment
Assessment is based on three components, designed to combine continuous learning, written examinations and active participation. The weighting of each component is set out below.
| COMPONENT | DESCRIPTION | WEIGHTING | COEFFICIENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formative assessment (online) | Continuous assessment via the i-law.co platform: students read the corresponding online lessons and complete online exercises individually. Exercises may be taken and retaken within one week after the end of the course. | 20% | 1 |
| Continuous written tests | In-class written exams held after selected modules. No assistance, electronic devices or notes are allowed. | 60% | 3 |
| Oral participation | Active oral contributions during sessions, assessed on quality, frequency, preparation, interaction and professionalism. | 20% | 1 |
Formative assessment (online)
Continuous assessment during sessions via the online platform: before or after each oral presentation, students read the corresponding online lessons and then complete the online exercises.
Exercises must be completed individually without external assistance. Students may consult the online lesson or their notes; the use of any other tool, in particular a generative artificial intelligence, is prohibited.
For each online exercise, students automatically receive their grade and the correction. Exercises may be retaken until one week after the end of the course.
Students must have an electronic device enabling them to access the website in optimal conditions (ideally a computer or a tablet).
The grade is calculated as the arithmetic mean of all online exercises. This grade carries a weighting of 20%.
Summative assessment (in class)
Continuous written tests: after selected modules, students sit short written exams on paper.
The grade is calculated as the arithmetic mean of all tests. This grade carries a weighting of 60%.
No assistance is permitted. Electronic devices are forbidden. Notes or other sources may not be consulted. The exam paper is provided by the lecturer. Students must bring a pen.
Oral participation
Active oral participation is assessed throughout the sessions. Students are expected to contribute regularly and meaningfully, by asking questions, commenting on cases, engaging in discussions, and interacting constructively with peers. Assessment takes into account the quality, frequency and relevance of contributions, as well as preparation, interaction and professionalism (punctuality, respect of instructions).
This grade carries a weighting of 20%.
The following table provides the grade descriptors for oral participation.
| GRADE RANGE | LEVEL | CRITERIA |
|---|---|---|
| 18-20 | Outstanding | Very frequent, highly relevant, well-prepared, excellent interaction, exemplary professionalism. |
| 15-17 | Strong | Frequent, relevant, solid preparation, active and respectful participation. |
| 12-14 | Satisfactory | Occasional contributions, generally prepared, sometimes passive. |
| 8-11 | Limited | Rare contributions, weak preparation, minimal engagement. |
| 0-7 | Minimal/Absent | Almost no participation, lack of preparation, possible disruption. |
🚀 GET STARTED!
📨 1 – Register
Please provide an email address that clearly identifies you (first name and last name).
👥 2 – Join your group
👉 https://i-law.co/join-group/?group-code=FaC2UjfrdEqv
Leave a Reply