1. International Trade Lawby
Imaddin Muhamad
School of Law
Damas University

2. Introduction to International Trade Law
Chapter One
Introduction to International Trade Law

3. Key words
International trade, trading market, economic interdependence, sale of goods, carriage, quality, quantity, insurance, International Business Law, Transactions, International Commercial Law; International Sales Law; International Economic Law; International Finance Law; goods, services, technology, profit, commerce, traders, consumers, trade customs, lex mercatoria, trading arrangements, contracts, trade contract, Commercial Organisations, multi-national companies, market, product, industry, economic environment, market dominance, economic communities, free trade, tariffs.

4. Learning Objectives By the end of this chapter you will:
1. Be able to describe the term and meaning of ‘International Trade Law’.
2. The range of actions and activities which are part of International Trade Law.
3. The difference between Public and Private International Trade Law.
4. Be able to explain the history of both Public and Private International Trade Law and t the meaning of General Recognised Principles of Law.
5. Explain the 7 main sources of International Trade Law.

5. Learning Objectives
6. Be able to understand the hierarchy which governs the organisation of International Trade Law.
7. Be able to explain these structures and how each one affects transactions and trade.
8. Understand the different International Trade Organisations.
9. Define the difference between Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs) and Non Government Organisations (NGOs).
10. Be able to give examples for both IGOs and NGOs by quoting the different organisations which come under each of these.

6. Introduction
The increase of international trade along with the expansion of information technology is developing a global trading market along with international economic interdependence.

7. Introduction
‘International trade law’ concerns a large number of actions and activities involving: agreement for sale of goods; the terms of their carriage; quality and quantity; insurance and intellectual property issues.

8. Introduction
International Business Law; International Business Transactions; International Commercial Law; International Sales Law; International Economic Law and International Finance Law are all terms which can be used interchangeably.

9. Introduction
We can divide the whole phrase of ‘International Trade Law’ into parts. For example, in the language of Latin, ‘inter’ means ‘between’; ‘national’ means nations; ‘trade’ means the exchange of goods, services and technology for profit; and ‘law’ means the regulation of conduct.

10. Introduction
So in a simple sense, we can define the term international trade law as being the regulation of the conduct of parties who are involved in the exchange of goods, services and technology between nations.

11. Public and Private International Trade Law
International trade law is commonly described as ‘public’ and ‘private’. Public international trade law is the regulation of conduct in commerce between nations. ‘States’ is used to refer to national governments instead of the word ‘governments’ due to the fact that some governments may change and the new government may not be recognised internationally.

12. Public and Private International Trade Law
Private international trade law is the regulation of conduct between private traders in different States. It generally does not involve the trading activities of individual consumers, for example a tourist who buys souvenirs while on holiday. However, there is a level of protection. For example, the East-India Company is the world’s first multinational and it was founded by the Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I in 1600. 

13. Sources of International Trade Law
There are 7 main sources of international trade law, and each has a different level of power. The hierarchy of source law is as follows:
Agreements between States:
General Practices between States
General Recognised Principles of Law
Previously Decided Cases and Academic Writings
Agreement Between Traders
Domestic Law
Dominant Commercial Organisations

14. Sources of International Trade Law
There are 7 main sources of international trade law, and each has a different level of power. The hierarchy of source law is as follows:
Agreements between States:
These are known as treaties, or conventions, and are the closest international equivalent to legislation in domestic legal systems.

15. Sources of International Trade Law
Treaties can be bilateral, meaning agreements between two States, or multilateral, meaning agreements between many States. Treaties can impose legal obligations on the parties and declarations impose moral obligations.

16. Sources of International Trade Law
General Practices between States:
This includes trade custom, norms which have developed over time and become standard trading relationships. The body of lex mercatoria is the general principles of customs among international traders. It developed from the law merchant, and contains any general aspect of international trading which has been used, accepted and recognised by traders over a period of time.

17. Sources of International Trade Law
These practices are not fixed, and will depend on the practices between international traders at a particular time. They also vary from place to place. As such, it is extremely difficult to see lex mercatoria as a body of law for international trade, because it is not comprehensive and cannot be universally applied.

18. Sources of International Trade Law
General Recognised Principles of Law: 
These are principles of law recognised throughout national legal systems around the world. They also consist of the procedures and legal principles held in common by the civil and common law systems, such as good faith, pact sunt servanda (that the contract will be enforced according to its terms), and the obligation to mitigate damages.

19. Sources of International Trade Law
Arab traders used the Silk Road (from Shanghai to Egypt) and had their own trading arrangements, usually based in barter, and this can be considered as part of lex mercatoria. A major underlying principle in international trade is good faith. The duty of good faith is basically a duty to act properly and in good conscience. 

20. Sources of International Trade Law
Previously Decided Cases and Academic Writings:
Previous arbitral awards will be considered by arbitrators, and previous judicial decisions will be considered by national courts.

21. Sources of International Trade Law
The writings of leading academics is also considered of some importance as a form of expert commentary on the state of the law in a certain area.

22. Sources of International Trade Law
Agreement Between Traders:
This is known as the principle of party autonomy, which means that traders should be free to make contracts on their own terms and to decide how disputes between them should be settled according to what particular law.

23. Sources of International Trade Law
Domestic Law:
In many transactions if a particular issue is not settled by an international convention, a generally recognised practice or principle, or by a specific term in a trade contract, then domestic law is applied.

24. Sources of International Trade Law
Dominant Commercial Organisations: 
Large multi-national companies, who have a significant hold on the market for a particular product, commodity or service, can greatly influence how the market operates and under what conditions. The regulation of an industry can be determined by its main player, and it is difficult in an economic environment where the aim of businesses is to maximise profits for those with power not to use and abuse it.

25. Sources of International Trade Law
An example of market dominance is the sugar industry in Australia. Sugar is prohibited from being imported, and sugar prices are set by CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) in conjunction with the Queensland government. 

26. International Trade Organisations
Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs):
These organisations are created by two or more States to pursue common interests as an entity separate from its members. A ‘charter’ is formed, which states the objectives, functions, and structure of the organisation. Some examples include the UN and the European Union (EU).

27. International Trade Organisations
Other organisational types include economic communities, such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and free trade associations, such as the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA). These are arrangements where the States involved agree to reduce or eliminate tariffs amongst themselves but maintain their own external tariffs.

28. International Trade Organisations
Non-government Organisations (NGOs):
These include non-profit and profit organisations. Non-profit organisations coordinate the interests of private national groups. Examples include the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Bar Association (IBA), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA)..

29. International Trade Organisations
Profit organisations are transnational corporations (TNCs), which have subsidiaries and joint ventures in several States.