The Mainz Program in International Litigation and Arbitration (MAPILA) expands the teaching in English offered by the Department of Law through eight courses which integrate international dispute resolution under public and private international law. The full-year program covers 28 to 32 ETCS points and aims at developing skills in international dispute resolution. It is open to incoming exchange students as well as students studying in Mainz.

The courses will cover the required total of 14-16 weekly lecture hours for the full academic year. Four classes focus on public international law while another three classes deal with various aspects of international civil dispute resolution. Finally, one course is specifically dedicated to the links, interrelationships and common issues between dispute resolution under international law and civil law. Different teaching methods and formats such as mock trials, group works and practice-oriented training will be incorporated. To successfully complete a course, students must pass a written examination at the end of the semester.

1. International Investment Law and Arbitration (4 ECTS)

This course focuses on international investment law and investment arbitration, and thus on one of the most dynamic and practically significant areas of dispute resolution under international law. The course examines the protection of foreign investments, primarily through bilateral investment treaties under international law and through private-law contracts directly between the investor and the host state. These offer investors the opportunity to bring proceedings before an international arbitral tribunal; in the case of an investment protection agreement, this may also be on an international law basis. At the same time, issues of international and comparative private and company law frequently arise here, as investments are often agreed upon by means of a private law contract and as private commercial arbitration draws on procedural law.

2. International and Regional Human Rights Law and Litigation (4 ECTS)

This class examines the extensive human rights protection mechanisms under international law, both at the regional level (with a focus on the European Convention on Human Rights and proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights) and at the international level (particularly individual complaint procedures under international human rights treaties, such as those before the Human Rights Committee of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).

3. International and European Litigation (4 ECTS)

This course addresses a subject of great practical significance for international law firms: what issues arise when legal disputes between companies or parties from different countries are brought before national courts? Which courts have jurisdiction, and where can the claimant bring proceedings? Can the defendant influence the choice of forum? Are judgments from one country enforceable in others? Can proceedings run simultaneously before two different courts? What does ‘forum shopping’ mean? What are ‘torpedo suits’ or ‘anti-suit injunctions’? The focus will be primarily on the relevant EU regulations. Comparative law elements, particularly relating to the common law, may also be included.

4. International Commercial Arbitration (2 ETCS)

This class focuses on international commercial arbitration and thus on a field of international civil procedural law that is of great practical significance. It covers the essential fundamentals of the main arbitration institutions and their rules of procedure, common procedural principles, and issues relating to the enforcement of arbitral awards.

5. New Procedural Developments and Challenges in International Litigation and Arbitration (2-4 ECTS)

This course compares international dispute resolution and litigation under international law and civil law, focusing on procedural issues and principles that arise in both fields to the same or a similar extent. This covers both procedural matters (e.g. interim legal protection) and, for example, issues relating to the taking of evidence, as well as many others.

6. International Business Regulation (4 ECTS)

7. Advocacy in Public International Law Dispute Settlement (4 ECTS)

In this class, students learn the foundations of international judicial dispute settlement as well as how to argue a case before an international court or tribunal. Students will read and prepare decisions in actual cases litigated before the International Court of Justice and other international judicial institutions. They will receive insights into procedural tactics and strategy and will understand the underlying policy matters at hand how the court or tribunal addresses them through the instrument of international law and argumentation.

8. The International Law of Sustainability (4 ECTS)

This course discusses fundamental questions of the law international sustainability. It covers its philosophical and theoretical foundations as well as different doctrinal issue areas, ranging from principles of international environmental law and climate change law to international and regional human rights law and the law of the sea. The course also addresses the foundational case law before international and domestic courts and concludes with an in-depth discussion of the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change.

9. Seminar in Comparative Private Law and International Litigation (4 ECTS)

The seminar addresses central questions of private law from a comparative perspective as well as important matters of international litigation. Students will give a presentation in a group and then work on seminar papers with a comprehensive exploration of the topic.