Module LAW40730: LAW OF THE WTO

Department: Law

LAW40730: LAW OF THE WTO

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• The module aims to give students a systematic understanding of key aspects in the field of international economic law, broadly defined, and enable them to engage critically with the subject and its significance. The analysis of the history of the world trading system and the political and economic principles underpinning its development will form the context of study. The analysis of the institutional framework governing international economic relations with an emphasis on the World Trade Organisation (WTO), its functions and system of dispute settlement will provide the framework. Within this context and framework students are expected to obtain detailed knowledge of specific aspects of the subject, in particular, the principles and rules governing international economic relations under the WTO system; the rules governing the settlement of disputes and the jurisprudence of the dispute settlement body of the WTO; the avenues available to private traders to pursue their interests in the world trading system with an emphasis on traders established in the EU; the mechanisms for the implementation of WTO rules in domestic legal orders with emphasis on the legal order of the EU and its Member States.

Content

• The content of the module will typically be:
• A) Context and Framework
• Economic policy and the evolution of the international economic order
• Institutional and legal aspects of the international economic order
• The GATT system: Evolution and principles
• The World Trade Organisation: Institutional aspects
• The World Trade Organisation: Dispute Settlement
• B) Substantive Issues
• Trade in Goods: Tariff Barriers to Trade and the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) Clause
• Trade in Goods: Non-tariff Barriers to Trade and the Prohibition of Quantitative Restrictions
• Trade in Goods: National Treatment
• Trade in Goods: the Exceptions
• Rules on Special Sectors: The Agreement on Agriculture and the SPS Agreement
• The Rules on Unfair Trade: Dumping and Subsidies
• The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
• The Agreement on Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs)
• The Systematic Derogations of the WTO System: Developing Countries and Regionalism
• C) Procedural Issues
• Procedural Issues in WTO Law: Bringing a case to the WTO: The EU Trade Barriers Regulation (TBR)
• Procedural Issues in WTO Law: Judicial Enforcement of WTO Law and Member States Courts

Learning Outcomes

• Students will have the knowledge of important elements of the history of the world trading system; they will have an advanced understanding of the political and economic principles underpinning the development of the world trading system; they will be able to identify the role and functions of the World Trade Organisation, they will know the modus operandi of the WTO's dispute settlement system; they will know the substantive WTO rules governing international economic relations including the jurisprudence of the WTO dispute settlement body; they will be able to identify the practical avenues available to individuals to pursue their interests in the world trading system with an emphasis on the EU; they will understand the application of the WTO in domestic legal orders, in particular, the EU and its Member States.

• Students will develop subject-specific intellectual skills. They will be able to accurately and effectively describe the historical, economic and political underpinnings of the world trading system; they will be able to identify the WTO rules applicable in a given case; they will be able to analyse the dispute settlement and provisions applicable in a given case; they will be able to advise on the practical ways available to private traders to defend their interests in the WTO and domestic legal orders; they will be able to apply their theoretical knowledge in practice.

• Students will be able to retrieve and utilise sources in the field of international economic law; they will be able to identify resources on their own initiative; develop oral communication skills; they will be self-reliant, able to take responsibility of their own learning.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Teaching and Learning will take place by virtue of a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials. The lectures will introduce the basic concepts and provide basic information. Students will be provided with the basic subject-specific knowledge, guidance towards further reading and sources of information, available both in print and electronically, and encouragement to pursue independent learning. Seminars and tutorials which will require student preparation in advance are aimed to enable students to assess the progress of their own learning. In particular, they will be invited to describe the historical, economic and political underpinnings of the world trading system, to identify the substantive and procedural rules applicable in a given case, to advise future clients on given sets of facts to present their arguments in class.
• Summative assessment will take place by virtue of a 3-hour exam. The exam will typically consist of a selection of essay and problem questions and students will be required to answer at least one question from each category. Essay questions aim to assess the students' subject-specific knowledge and their ability to describe, identify and analyse the relevant concepts and rules. Problem questions aim to assess the students' ability to identify the rules applicable in a given case and apply their theoretical knowledge in practice.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

E-learning environment of DUO: setting online Multiple Choice Questions and providing feedback; setting and moderating discussion groups on DUO; participation in seminars and tutorials.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University