Seminar FS25: Trade and Business in Uncertain Times

As the world faces an accumulation of challenges, in this seminar we will look at three challenges that are particularly pertinent in a trade and business context as they pose dilemmas for business, governments and communities:

1. The current unstable geopolitical environment:
   • Armed conflicts: Sanctions and their impact on vulnerable groups and human rights at large. How to conduct business in time of conflict? What is the role of international humanitarian law in a business and trade context?
   • Trade conflicts: e.g. China and the US and the crisis of the multilateral system. What are the consequences for international (trade) law? Which solutions could be envisioned?
   • Disrupted supply chains and their impact on regulation: How can conflicting interests be reconciled in regulation?
      
2. Complex regulatory requirements for trade and business activities:
   • Trend towards binding due diligence obligations and legal liability: National legislation around the world and new rules in the European Union
   • Extraterritorial effects of law
      
3. The role of law in moving towards a just transition:
   • Climate, Environment, Biodiversity: Moving towards a green economy; impacts of business operations, supply chains and investment on biodiversity loss
   • Digital Transformation: new business models; impacts on decent work and on workers; sustainable production and distribution
      

In this seminar we will reflect on these challenges from a legal perspective, including general public international law, international economic law, international human rights law and international humanitarian law, European law as well as aspects of corporate law. We will among other issues look at the current conflicts such as the war against Ukraine and its impact on international trade as well as on business activities, including the current sanctions regime. Another important topic will be climate change and the role of international trade law to contribute to a just transition. We will benefit from insights of leading experts in these fields and also plan to visit the United Nations in Geneva.

This seminar will be held by the following professors who are international leading legal experts in their respective fields:

• Christine Kaufmann: Professor of public law, public international law and European Law at the University of Zurich. Chair of the OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct
• Pichamon Yeophantong: Associate Professor and Head of Research at the Centre for Future Defence and National Security at Deakin University, Canberra (Australia). Member of Asia-Pacific States on the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
• Gregory Shaffer: Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of International Law at Georgetown University, Washington D.C. (U.S.), and former President of the American Society of International Law (ASIL). Prof. Shafffer is a leading international trade expert, author and consultant on the WTO, EU law, globalisation and transnational legal orders.

The exact seminar dates during the course of the spring semester will be published at a later date. The seminar will be held in Zurich but also includes a day trip to the United Nations in Geneva. Students are responsible for their own train tickets from Zurich to Geneva.