International & Comparative Law

Certificate in International Trade and Development

The purpose of the Certificate Program in International Trade and Development is to provide law students with a broad legal and multi-disciplinary background in international trade, investment, and commercial law. Students receive grounding in the basic business, tax, and commercial law courses that are important to any business lawyer. In addition, students are trained in domestic laws that affect international trade, such as federal trade laws that regulate countervailing duties, unfair trade practices, and export controls.

Students are also trained in international trade and commercial law regimes such as the European Community, GATT, and other world trade organizations. Students study the international monetary system, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and the growing United Nations legal regimes affecting international trade, such as the Convention for the International Sale of Goods promulgated by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.

In addition to possessing specialized legal knowledge, the modern international transactions lawyer must also have a sophisticated background in international economics, politics, history, and culture. Thus, an important component of the Certificate Program is an emphasis on interdisciplinary study. Students are required to take appropriate courses among the extensive offerings in the various University departments and colleges.

Perhaps even more important, the international transactions lawyer should have facility with a foreign language. Thus, students in the Certificate Program normally also are required to take foreign language courses offered by the University.

Certificate Requirements

In order to fulfill the requirements of the Certificate Program, students must complete the equivalent of 30 semester hours of course work. Fifteen of these semester hours must be completed within the Moritz College of Law and the equivalent of 15 semester hours (22 quarter hours) must be completed in other departments and colleges at The Ohio State University. All of that course work shall be completed with the consultation and approval of the faculty member administering the program.

Upon graduation, students who have successfully completed the Certificate Program requirements will receive, in addition to the J.D. degree, a Certificate from the Moritz College of Law certifying that they have completed the course of study in International Trade and Development. The Certificate in International Trade and Development shall be a separate document from the J.D. diploma and shall also be entered on the transcript of grades for the J.D. degree in the same manner as the notation for Honors is printed.