| Unit name | International Trade and Investment Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0159 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Paine |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit provides a comparative introduction to international trade law and international investment law. A critical and interdisciplinary approach to the study of international trade and international investment law will be adopted to enable students to identify the complex relationship between these two core areas of international economic law. Students will examine the normative foundations of each discipline and identify points of convergence and divergence. The course will provide an introduction to the multilateral trade regime (ie the World Trade Organization and its covered agreements); investment treaties and associated institutions (eg the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)); and regional trade and investment agreements, where these two areas often converge, including so-called ‘mega-regional’ agreements (eg the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)).
There are a number of broader themes underpinning this unit that students might explore including: the role of international trade and investment agreements in facilitating processes of globalization, including the development of global value chains; the impact of the international trade and investment regimes on sovereignty and domestic policy space; whether the international trade and investment regimes do enough to promote sustainable development; the extent to which international trade and investment agreements create and/or perpetuate systemic (in)justices and (in)equalities between and among countries; potential tensions between regional and multilateral arrangements; and the role of non-state actors in the international trade and international investment regimes (eg multinational corporations).
The diverse ways in which international trade law and investment law shape and inform the global political economy will be examined throughout the unit through the interrogation of specific topics. Students will examine the dispute settlement regimes in international trade and investment law and contemporary debates about reforming these systems. An illustration of what students might study in a given year includes, but is not limited to: history of the international trade and investment regimes; contemporary institutional architecture and dispute settlement arrangements; market access and non-discrimination; coverage of investment treaties (definition of investors and investments); absolute investor protections (eg fair and equitable treatment, protection against expropriation); exceptions and defences in trade and investment agreements; regulatory disciplines in trade (eg Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade); trade remedies (eg safeguards, anti-dumping, subsidies); and linkages between international trade and investment law and other areas of international law (eg environmental and human rights law). Students will explore the role of international trade and investment law in addressing disputes concerning environmental protection or the protection of human health (eg challenges to tobacco plain packaging laws under investment treaties and in WTO dispute settlement). The unit is, in many ways, a unique hybrid, drawing on elements of international law, commercial law, private law and public law.
On completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through a variety of asynchronous and synchronous activities.
2 x summative assessments: 2 x coursework with a specified word count.
The assessments will assess all of the intended learning outcomes for this unit.
Formative assessment opportunities will be provided during the year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWDM0159).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
