General provisions

Determined on March 15, 2018 by Faculty of Law’s Teaching Committee, Uppsala University, by virtue of Chapter 6 Section 14 and 15 of the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100). The course plan enters into force on August 15, 2018.

In General

The course is the second course at the Master's Programme in International Tax Law and EU Tax Law. The course is 15 university points (15 ECTS credits). The course is an obligatory course for the degree of Master of Laws (60 credits) LLM, according to the degree requirements adopted 3 September 2012 by the Board of the Faculty of Law of Uppsala University. The course is held in English.

Entry requirements

Be admitted to the Master Programme in International Tax Law and EU Tax Law.

Learning outcomes

After this course students should individually be able to:

• identify problems and suggest adequate solutions to these by interpreting and applying tax treaties,
• understand problems related to transfer pricing, and to suggest legal solutions to these by using adequate material and methods,
• identify problems in cross boarder situations and suggest adequate solutions to these by using adequate methods and materials,
• to understand the objectives of the EU fundamental freedoms and the method used by the CJEU in this regard (the rule-of reason doctrine incl),
• present, orally as well as in writing, complicated problems and arguments for objective-oriented solutions (for instance argue the case of the applicant or the defendant in a moot court).

Grading criteria

The grades given are Fail (U), Pass (B), Pass with credit (Ba), and Pass with distinction (AB). The grades F-A will also be used.

For the grade “B”, the student is required to achieve all the learning outcomes in a descriptive, summary, thoughtful and analytical fashion.

For the next grade “Ba”, in addition to the requirements for grade “B”, the student is required to demonstrate the capability of taking an analytical approach through structured, independent and critical thinking.

For the highest grade, “AB”, in addition to the requirements for grade “Ba”, the student must demonstrate good analytical skills through well-structured, well-thought thoughts and critical thinking, enabling him/her to take positions based on convincing arguments and a high degree of independence.

Content

The course objective is to provide knowledge of transfer pricing, EU tax law (direct taxation) as well as more in depth knowledge of tax treaty law. The tax treaty law may be studied when taking part of a moot court. The part dealing with EU tax law will cover the structure of the case law of the CJEU concerning fundamental freedoms and direct taxation.

Instruction

All teaching and materials are in English. The teaching is given through seminars where students discuss cases previously prepared in smaller groups of three to five students. There are also lectures and field trips (study visits).

Participation in all seminars and lectures is compulsory (90 % attendance is required). During the course, the students must also complete written and oral achievements. The course director may, grant exemptions in extraordinary cases. However, complemen­tary assignments may be given.

The course may contain a moot court (in Sweden or elsewhere).

Detailed information concerning the teaching is given in the annexed study plan. The instruction is based on the annexed list of literature. Additional reading assignments will be provided during the course.

Assessment

In order to pass the course, students must fulfil all compulsory elements. Examination will be made through individually written memoranda, oral presentations and a written exam at the end of the course.

Detailed information is given in the annexed study plan. In extraordinary cases a student will be able to perform the examination in another way, for example at an oral exam. Students who fail are provided a re-take examination (see the annexed study plan).

The written exam is a so-called open book test which means that legislation, course literature, and other course material may be used. Dictionaries and the student’s own notes are also allowed.

It is prohibited to attempt to use deceptive means to influence the outcome of an exam or other ways of evaluating student performance such as essays. This entails inter alia the following points. A student may not use non-permitted aids or materials during a written examination. It is also prohibited to pass off another person’s work as one’s own work, in other words, to engage in plagiarism. See the specific instructions given during the course in this respect. In addition to the result of the exam or other way of evaluating student performance being reduced or declared null, a student who, in the above or other ways engages in cheating will be reported to the University Disciplinary Board. The Board can issue formal warnings or disbar the student from studying at the university for a period of up to six months.