Applicants with a Bachelor's or Master's degree are eligible to apply.
Knowledge of English at B2 level minimum is required.
Admission is based on the assessment of required documents submitted by the candidate (upon prior registration in Online Application System).
If the number of candidates exceeds the limit of places, the order of admission will be determined based on the ranking list created based on the average grade from higher studies of the 1st or 2nd cycle degree, or long-term studies.
PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES
The International Business Law and Arbitration (IBLA) programme is intended to produce highly qualified specialists in the field of international commercial law and arbitration, capable of independently analysing problems in the field of commercial law in the context of international business, finding effective solutions to legal problems and implementing them in an international business environment.
The aim of the Master's degree programme is to educate a team of specialists who will be able to provide legal advice in an international and European business environment (both in the private and public sphere), explain the latest issues and trends in business law, analyse and evaluate the legal aspects of business and a specific business situation, quickly and effectively deal with legal problems faced by enterprises, as well as conduct research and provide suggestions to the legislator on ways of improving the business environment. The programme also aims to pass on the students an awareness of the importance of issues such as corporate social responsibility, ethics and human rights in business, or fair trade and consumer protection.
Since globalisation affects economic life, it is important for professionals from the business law sector to have an extensive knowledge both in the field of international economic law and in international dispute resolution, which in business environment perceived holistically is specific. At the same time, it is worth emphasising that arbitration is now one of the most popular methods of resolving international disputes, and its role systematically increases. Significant freedom of parties with regard to the scope of decision, the applicable law and procedures means that this method is used in disputes between entrepreneurs themselves and between states and private entities (in particular, foreign investors).
CURRICULUM
The objectives of the programme will be achieved through the implementation of a curriculum encompassing four main groups of courses:
I. General Courses
II. Business Law
III. Mediation & Arbitration
IV. Specialist Elective Courses (monographic lectures and discussion classes)
As part of the General Courses, which comprise both the curriculum fundamentals and constitute a necessary starting point for subsequent specialised courses, the student will gain knowledge, among others, on the fundamentals of jurisprudence, commercial law, arbitration law, international law and EU law (with a particular emphasis on the common market), property rights (including intellectual property rights), contract law, international private law and labour law.
Business Law encompasses a group of courses covering the principles of running a business in the EU, the rules of entrepreneurs' functioning in the capital market, rules of public-private partnership, and contracting mechanisms. The student will also learn about the standards for the protection of human rights in business (with a particular emphasis on the protection of personal data) and CSR.
The Mediation and Arbitration block will be devoted entirely to solving international disputes arising in business, both between entrepreneurs and between the state and investors. Accordingly, the student will master the legal standards of mediation and arbitration. A particular emphasis will be placed on drawing up contracts that form the basis of the above-mentioned methods.
Furthermore, the students will be able to expand their knowledge and develop their interests in this regard by pursuing a range of monographic lectures and discussion classes which constitute a group of so-called Specialist Elective Courses, designed to cover very detailed and narrow aspects of international business law and arbitration (such as company law, company trading, competition and consumer law, ethical and legal issues in investment arbitration, etc.).
The curriculum will also encompass lectures by visiting professors from the USA, China and the EU, designed to not only address the issues that make the core of the curriculum and its underlying assumptions, but also to complete and expand the educational offering.
GRADUATE PROFILE
The International Business Law and Arbitration graduates will have acquired a specialist knowledge in legal sciences, which will also be supplemented with knowledge in other social sciences, including economics. They will have developed special legal skills and other competences important from the point of view of the programme’s curriculum. Their knowledge will cover legal issues both at the international and European level, as well as – in justified cases – national one. Accordingly, they will demonstrate an understanding of issues and problems of business law (including contract law, company law, intellectual property law, competition law and the resolution of commercial disputes), commercial law private law, procedural law and partly – administrative law and the fundamentals of law and legal theory as well as ethics in business.
The IBLA graduates will have developed the ability to use specialist language, which is a requisite for practicing in the field of law, administration, management or economics. In particular, they will have acquired the ability to identify, interpret and practise the application of legal provisions in the abovementioned areas, and will have deepened their rhetorical, negotiation and mediation skills. Importantly, they will have acquired and improved their command of professional English vocabulary, meaning they will have the necessary linguistic competence to act as mediators or arbitrators in disputes regarding international trade. Furthermore, they will have developed analytical, research and communication skills thanks to studying in an international and multicultural environment with students and staff from all over the world.
As regards their competence, the IBLA graduates will have the necessary qualifications to manage teams, work in groups, make decisions and substantiate their stance on a range of matters, taking into account also issues in the area of corporate social responsibility and the protection of human rights. Last but not least, they will be aware of the importance of and the need for lifelong learning, participation in social life and cooperation in an international environment.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Upon successful completion of the programme, IBLA graduates will have mastered critical competences and will be prepared for further professional development. They will be able to pursue careers (also abroad) as professional business lawyers, in-house business advisors, civil servants or lawyer in an international organisations (also governmental ones).
The programme’s focus is not so much on the national legal system, but rather on international issues. Nevertheless, the national component is not neglected, but rather analysed from a more comparative perspective. In addition, the programme aims to provide its students and prospective graduates not only with specialist knowledge on international legal regulations in business, but also the skills necessary for effective but also ethical problem solving in this area and hence the emphasis on the ADR issues in the curriculum.
As a result, the following main areas of career paths of prospective graduates can be distinguished:
- work in the private sector - for example in law firms, business consulting companies, in various international and domestic organisations having business contacts and interests in foreign countries, banks and other financial institutions, insurance companies, notary offices, etc.;
- work in the public sector - in domestic, European and international institutions that promote business development, business supervision agencies, academic and research institutions, as well as in commercial judicial bodies (dispute resolution institutions, tribunals, arbitration courts) and in other organisations (such as associations promoting and defending interests and rights of consumers and employees),
- work as independent consultants or set up their own company providing legal advisory services.