Law course taught at ISUGA International Business School (Quimper, France)
Academic year: 2025–2026 — Period: January-February 2026
Programme: Bachelor’s degree in international business development (EQF Level 6 / Bachelor’s level)
Official title (FR): Bachelor Responsable de Développement Commercial à l’international (BAC+3 – RNCP niveau 6)
Level: Bachelor’s degree – Year 3 (final year)
Group: ISUGA B3 2025–26
Lecturer: Franck BEAUDOIN, Avocat
Duration of the course: 20 hours / 4 sessions
Updated on 2 February 2026
📌 Recommendations for exam preparation
Dear students,
The final exam will include multiple-choice questions (20 points) and a practical case (10 points). The final mark will beconverted to a mark out of 20.
To prepare for the practical case, I recommend studying the lesson “Training case – Contract management in international trade”, available at the end of the module “Final exam – Legal guide to doing business internationally”.
This lesson provides a training case, a method for analysing international contracts, and a model answer, illustrating the type of reasoning expected for the exam.
Best wishes for your preparation.
FB
📋 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 key 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.
This course is designed as a legal guide to doing business internationally, providing the legal foundations required for students at Bachelor level. It forms the first stage of a coherent learning path in international business law and prepares students for more advanced courses taught at Master’s level, focusing on international operations (Operating internationally) and on international business development strategies (Strategies for international business development). Together, these courses are designed as a structured and progressive approach to the legal dimension of international business activities.
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
Secure and optimise international operations
🗓️ In-class sessions schedule
| SESSION | THEMES | DURATION | DATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| SESSION 1 | Introduction to law and international law Overview of international business law International institutions and global governance The sources of international business law | 5 hours | 7 January 2026 |
| SESSION 2 | Private international law International dispute resolution Harmonised legal instruments for international contracts | 5 hours | 9 January 2026 |
| SESSION 3 | The fundamentals of international contracts Practising international business contracts International sales and manufacturing contracts Incoterms Importing and exporting | 5 hours | 21 January 2026 |
| SESSION 4 | International distribution contracts International agency agreement International technology transfer agreement Doing business in Europe: EU law Key legal issues in international business operations: overview Intellectual property Personal data processing | 5 hours | 3 February 2026 |
| FINAL EXAM | 1,5 hour | 9 March 2026 |
💻 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 |
| International institutions and global governance | |
| The sources of international business law > The legal framework of international business > Typology of legal systems | 45 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 four 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 retaken before the final exam. | 20% | 2 |
| Continuous written tests | In-class written exams held after selected modules. No assistance, electronic devices or notes are allowed. | 30% | 3 |
| Final written exam | Comprehensive in-class written exam at the end of the course, covering the main themes of the syllabus. | 30% | 3 |
| Oral participation | Active oral contributions during sessions, assessed on quality, frequency, preparation, interaction and professionalism. | 20% | 2 |
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 before the final exam.
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 30%.
Final written exam: at the end of the course, students sit a comprehensive in-class written exam covering the main themes of the syllabus.
The final exam carries a weighting of 30%.
Common rules for written exams: 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. |
Pedagogical adjustments and assessment flexibility
The assessment framework described above defines the general structure of evaluation for this course. Final grades are determined on the basis of the results obtained in each assessment component, combined with a global pedagogical assessment of the student’s work throughout the course.
In practice, final grades may include a limited manual pedagogical adjustment, remaining very close to the objectively calculated results, in order to reflect the student’s overall engagement, consistency, progression and seriousness of work during the course.
In this context, particular attention will be paid to the percentage of online lessons completed on the i-law.co platform, which will be taken into account when assessing and, where appropriate, adjusting the grade for continuous online assessment.
Depending on pedagogical constraints, group dynamics or organisational considerations, certain assessment components may be adapted or suppressed. In particular, oral participation may not be graded for some groups. In such cases, the overall grade may be calculated on the basis of the following distribution:
– Formative assessment (online): 25%
– Continuous written tests: 37.5%
– Final written exam: 37.5%
More generally, the lecturer retains the possibility to adapt the assessment modalities where justified by pedagogical considerations, while preserving the coherence, fairness and learning objectives of the course.
🚀 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=QUYTXsjZSzfd
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