International Business Law and Arbitration Programme code: 07-S2LA19.2019

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.

A diploma thesis for the International Business Law and Arbitration programme is prepared in English. The diploma procedure was defined at the University level in the Study Regulations and in the ordinance No. 16 of the Rector of the University of Silesia in Katowice of 28 January 2015 on the procedure for the submission and archiving of written diploma theses. At the faculty level, it finds additional regulation in the resolution of the Faculty Council of 30 May 2017 on the principles of diploma submission and defence in all fields of study. On the basis of the existing regulations, three key stages of the diploma-earning procedure can be distinguished. The first stage is the registration of the title of the diploma thesis provided for in the Rector's ordinance referred to above. It requires the student to submit in the dean's office, not later than the end of the semester preceding the last semester of studies, the registration form for the diploma thesis approved by the thesis supervisor. On this basis, the title is registered in the USOS system within 14 days of receipt of the form. The topics of the diploma theses concern specific issues in specific areas of law, which are the subject of interest and scientific research of the Faculty's employees, as well as the subject of interest and, not rarely, student research. The preparation of the thesis is based on an analysis of legal issues in the literature on the subject, in judicial decisions, drawing conclusions as to the legal solutions proposed in the jurisprudence or the formulating of de lege ferenda applications. The second stage of the diploma procedure concerns the submission of a diploma thesis. After a draft version of the thesis has been accepted by the supervisor, the student is obliged to enter the work in the APD system. This should happen by September 25 in the academic year in which the student is expected to graduate. In justified cases, on the basis of the dean's decision, this period may be extended. Following the introduction to the APD system, the thesis is subject to obligatory anti-plagiarism control in a system cooperating with a national repository of written diploma theses. This control is aimed at eliminating pathological phenomena that appear in the case of diploma theses, and involve the misappropriation of someone else's work and presenting it for evaluation as one’s own master's thesis. Counteracting such phenomena is also based on the thesis supervisor's ongoing monitoring of the student's progress during the preparation of the master's thesis. If the results of the above-mentioned anti-plagiarism control do not raise any objections from the supervisor, he or she approves the work. The approval of the work leads to the launch of the third stage of the diploma procedure. The third stage of the diploma-earning process consists in verification of the accomplishment of the learning outcomes related to the preparation of the master's thesis, which takes place in two steps and includes the evaluation of the work by reviewers and the master's exam before a special committee. Reviews should be submitted in the APD system before the master's exam in order to enable the graduating students to get acquainted with the reviewers' comments and reservations and thus create an opportunity to prepare arguments for defending their views expressed in the diploma thesis. If there are differences between the grades given by the supervisor and the reviewer in their reviews of the thesis, the general assessment of the thesis should be made by the head of the committee during the diploma examination. The reliability of reviews is subject to an annual assessment by the Education Quality Assurance Committee in relation to a randomly selected group of diploma theses. Admission to the MA exam is conditioned upon obtaining positive grades for the diploma thesis. During the master's exam the student provides answers to at least three questions, one of which concerns the work, while two questions, drawn by the graduating student, come from a set of 20 questions prepared by the respective thesis supervisors and made available to students at the beginning of each academic year.

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The underlying objective of the development strategy is to create strong research teams and conduct world-class research. The research activity carried out by the Faculty's academic staff covers many areas and bears the hallmarks of multiannual projects, with an emphasis on the interdisciplinary and international aspects. The results of research are used in the didactic process, and the academic output of the Faculty's employees allows them to be recognised in the national and international legal academic circles. Members of the Faculty conduct extensive research, as evidenced in particular by scientific publications and participation in national and international programmes and conferences. Research carried out at the Faculty also contributes to changes, revisions and development of the respective study programmes and helps students acquire and develop research competences. The Faculty strives to include students in research carried out by the Faculty academics, all of whom have extensive teaching experience. This translates into our students being successful at national and international competitions and actively participating in various research initiatives through involvement in student research clubs. Another objective of the development strategy is to provide innovative education and offer study programmes and curricula that are in line with the needs of the labour market and reflect the latest developments in the respective disciplines of science. Accordingly, the Faculty of Law and Administration strives to ensure that upon completion of its study programmes the alumni have acquired not only specialist knowledge, but also developed social and practical skills necessary for a life in society. The innovative curriculum designed for the International Business Law and Arbitration programme will help students to acquire knowledge and develop skills and social competences required for a successful entry into the labour market as highly-qualified specialists in commercial law and arbitration or for starting a business. The innovativeness of the curriculum stems from the fact that the language of instruction for all the courses comprising the curriculum will be English and that the academic content thereof has been divided into four thematic categories: General Courses, Business Law, Mediation and Arbitration, Specialist Elective Courses). To ensure that the objective referred to above is achieved, modern instruction methods will be used throughout the duration of the programme. A particular emphasis is placed on the social, interpersonal and logistic competences of the students so that they develop skills necessary to quickly and smoothly respond and adapt to the ever-changing conditions of the labour market. As a result, a distinguishing feature of the IBLA graduates is logical thinking, multidimensional perception of complexities of the reality and an ability to quickly acquire new knowledge. These skills are also shaped at the substantive level as the students are provided with broad opportunities to learn the entire spectrum of legal regulations relevant to the international business market that they can encounter in their future careers or whose knowledge will be required within the career path they decide to pursue. Learning outcomes in the area of knowledge, skills, and social competences, as indicated in the respective course syllabi, reflect the importance the Faculty attaches to effective implementation of the University’s strategy in a serious and responsible manner. The Faculty keeps abreast of the ever-changing needs of the labour market and regularly revises, improves and expands its educational offering by launching new elective courses, including interdisciplinary courses intended to illustrate relations between different areas of law in practice and strengthen cooperation between Faculty members involved in the realisation of the IBLA programme. Another important element of the strategy is internationalisation, which the International Business Law and Arbitration programme perfectly fits in. The programme is the Faculty’s response to requests coming from a growing body of Polish students interested in law-related careers abroad and international students studying at the Faculty under the Erasmus+ programme or under bilateral agreements, who have frequently expressed an interest in pursuing a degree programme at the Faculty of Law and Administration. Since all the courses that comprise the programme’s curriculum are taught in English and are therefore more accessible to foreign students whose command of the Polish language has often prevented them from fully enjoying the Faculty’s extensive educational offering, international student body is likely to increase. In addition to following an entirely English-based curriculum, students, domestic and international alike, enrolled in the International Business Law and Arbitration programme can attend lectures by visiting professors from the USA, China and the EU, and have access to international law databases and publications in foreign languages. Extensive cooperation with leading academic centres based abroad, combined with multiple opportunities for participation in international student mobility programmes (such as the Erasmus+ Student Mobility for Studies or Student Mobility for Traineeships), means that inbound and outbound student mobility will likely grow. The development strategy also lists as one of its objectives active cooperation between the University and its environment. In this regard, a point that is crucial from the perspective of the International Business Law and Arbitration programme, is that the Faculty of Law and Administration closely cooperates with entrepreneur associations, entrepreneurs and state and local government authorities. The cooperation involves, among other things, organising conferences, trainings and seminars, and conducting joint research, the results of which are more disseminated in the form of publications . The confrontation of these two dimensions of science and knowledge in law in theory and practice is used in the didactic process. The possibility of combining theory and practice within the IBLA programme will serve not only students but also representatives of local and national authorities as well as entrepreneurs. Well-educated and well-qualified graduates enrich the market with reliable knowledge and skills as well as legal culture. Analyses, experiences, research and conclusions from research projects used during classes with students are equally useful in business practice. In this context, it needs to be emphasised that the majority of academics at the Faculty of Law and Administration, as legal professionals, either are entrepreneurs themselves or cooperate with entrepreneurs, or work in administrative bodies (including local government as well as national and European ones) and are active participants in the economic market. As experts and legal practitioners, they can train prospective specialists in the field of business law and arbitration by providing them with knowledge and skills that go beyond law in theory and raising their awareness of social, economic and ethical aspects of law and business. Furthermore, the International Business Law and Arbitration programme is a response to the market’s demand for professional business services (especially in the field of resolution of disputes arising in business environment in the broad sense of the word). The classes that make up the programme’s extensive curriculum and elective courses offer a perfect balance between the theory and practice of business. As a result, graduates will be able to follow a number of different career paths. The Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Silesia is known not only in the region, but also in the country, and is becoming popular abroad. This is mainly the result of the academic and professional activity of the Faculty's employees and the training of young lawyers at the highest level, as evidenced by the achievements of our graduates and high places in the rankings of the national law departments. Study programmes available at the University of Silesia are gaining popularity among candidates from abroad. Candidates from Poland are also increasingly interested in pursuing undergraduate or graduate degree programmes in English, believing this will increase their chances of launching a successful career in Poland and abroad. The launch of the International Business Law and Arbitration programme at the Faculty of Law and Administration is therefore not only proof that the University is attentive to the needs of its current and prospective students but also a response to one of the strategic goals in the area of internationalisation.