| Unit name | World Trade Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0115 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Gammage |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
none |
| Co-requisites |
There are no co-requisites for this course. However, students may find it beneficial to study the International Law of Trade and Aid module alongside the World Trading System module and should be encouraged to do so (although this is not a co-requisite). |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This course would enable students to explore the functions of the WTO and its various agreements; the key provisions of the GATT and GATS; the WTO’s dispute settlement system; and an introduction to services/investment/competition and procurement. Aims of this unit are: • Introduce students to the field of International Economic law • Examine the role of the WTO in the international legal, economic and political order • Assess the scope of the WTO with reference to the relevant legal agreements
There will be 10 seminar sessions, as follows:
1. Introduction to the World Trade Organisation
2. Dispute Resolution
3. Market Access: National Treatment and MFN
4. Exceptions & Safeguards
5. Antidumping and Subsidies
6. Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade: Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures & Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
7. Introduction to Specialised Sectors: Services, Procurement, Investment, Competition
8.Developing Countries and the WTO: Special and Differential Treatment
9. Regional Trade Agreements
10. Development and Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
The learning objectives of this course would be for students to gain an understanding of the major international economic institution and its place in the international order. Students will learn about international economic law and its growing importance as a sub-branch of international law. By the end of the course, students should be able to:
- Understand the role of the WTO within the international order - Interpret and analyse the legal texts of the WTO - Explain the different legal rules relating to different aspects of trade e.g. goods, services, investment etc.Students will also be engaged in critical evaluation of the operation of law in its international commercial context.
Seminar teaching – 10 x 2 hour seminars.
Drop in sessions – 10 x 1 hour sessions
Formative feedback – 4 x 1 hour sessions
The methods for summative assessment will be 2 x 3000 word summative assessments (50%, 50%) for submission in the Spring and Summer terms.
The assessments will assess all the Intended Learning Outcomes for this unit in the context of topics selected by the examiners.
Formative - students should do one formative assessment and will receive feedback on the first summative essay
The core text books for this course are:
1. Peter van den Bossche and Werner Zdouc, The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization: Text, Cases and Materials, Third Edition (Cambridge University Press, 2013); and/or
2. M. Matsushita et al, The World Trade Organization, Second Edition (Oxford University Press, 2006).
These textbooks provide the core reading for the entire course. Students will be directed to online sources, journals articles and cases where relevant to supplement the core reading. This will be provided in their reading list which will be circulated before the course starts in the Autumn term.
