• Understanding the paradox of how new forms of production rely on contractual boundaries to limit liability and, at the same time, utilize new technologies and ideologies of governance to extend the governance effects of contract beyond privity.
• Gaining knowledge and skills to understand the role of law in shaping economic production.
• Learning to critically assess the effects of different legal frameworks for balancing production-related interests ranging from economic efficiency to social, environmental, cultural and economic externalities.
• Acquiring practical skills for evaluating the legal effects of different kinds of contractual governance and a toolbox for developing appropriate means of governance for diverse production related contexts and tasks.

The course focuses on the interplay of private governance mechanisms, public law and private law doctrine in creating a rapidly developing legal framework in which all forms of production operate. Hence, the course concerns the foundational role of contracts in forming and governing the value chain. New forms of production, such as global value chains, have utilized new technologies and ideologies of governance to extend the governance effects of contract far beyond privity. The course introduces the development of these new forms of production and how they can be governed. 

Furthermore, the course elaborates on how contracts can be used to control various social, environmental, cultural or economic externalities associated with production and open-up creative ‘safe-spaces’ for private governance initiatives. The course provides students with knowledge on supply chain management and governance through contract from a legal perspective. It also provides students with an understanding of the shifting parameters of governance through contract and enables students to make informed decisions on the legal consequences of different modes and techniques of organizing production. 

The course is taught as a "study group" which requires a high degree of student involvement in class and between classes. The teaching, cases and reading materials provide the foundation for the one-week project. The project must provide a scientific analysis of a relevant case in the industry.

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