LAWS338-14S2 (C) Semester Two 2014

International Trade

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 14 July 2014
End Date: Sunday, 16 November 2014
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 27 July 2014
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 12 October 2014

Description

An examination of the major agreements and institutions relating to international trade and development.

This course will provide an introduction to the regulation of international trade under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).  New Zealand is one of 159 State Members of the WTO, which is responsible for regulating trade in goods, services and intellectual property at the international level.  Moreover, these days trade rules impact on more than just trade: they restrict (or at least impact upon) Member’s policies in connection with (but not limited to) the environment, human rights, health and culture.

The WTO is comprised of three pillars as well as a sophisticated dispute settlement mechanism: the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (in goods) (GATT); the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and; the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).  This course will focus on trade in goods and to a lesser extent, services, and the relationship between the WTO rules and competing social policies with special emphasis on trade and the environment.  This course will also deal with trade liberalisation in the Pacific Region.

Learning Outcomes

  • Students will be expected to gain a solid knowledge of the relevant legal framework as well as developing their capacity to critically analyse issues and developments in this field.  This course will be of interest to students wanting to know more about the international trade rules and their impact on business and public policy, and to broaden their knowledge of international law.  

    Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

    Assessment Task - Colloquium
    Learning Outcome Measured:
  •  Carry out independent research.
  •  Deliver a coherent and clear oral presentation that communicates the extent of their knowledge, understanding and critical evaluative skills to others.
  •  Understand and explain the relationship between the WTO Agreements and selected other instruments.

    Assessment Task - Final Exam
    Learning Outcome Measured:
  •  Understand, interpret, apply and critique the WTO Agreements and other relevant instruments.
  •  Identify international legal issues in factual scenarios and construct international legal responses to those issues.

Prerequisites

(i) LAWS101; and (ii) LAWS110; (iii) LAWS324 or may be admitted by Head of Department if concurrently enrolled in LAWS324

Co-requisites

Timetable Note

Lectures of two hours per week plus one-hour colloquium fortnightly.

Course Coordinator / Lecturer

Christian Riffel

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
Essay 30%
Final Examination 70%


The essay is due as follows:

Students presenting in Term 3 - essay due by 12noon, Friday 22 August 2014.

Students presenting in Term 4 - essay due by 12noon, Friday 17 October 2014.

Assessment will be confirmed in the first week of lectures.  The assessment is likely to consist of a colloquium presentation (30%) and a final examination (70%).

During the colloquium we will cover the leading WTO cases.  Students will be asked to present a chosen case, ideally in groups of two people (one presenting the argumentation of the complainant and the respondent, and one a summary of the facts as well as the decision of the WTO adjudicating body).  Afterwards, students will hand in a copy of their individual presentation.

Textbooks / Resources

Recommended Reading

Bossche, Peter van den , Zdouc, Werner; The law and policy of the World Trade Organization : text, cases and materials ; 3rd edition ;

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $709.00

International fee $3,388.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Faculty of Law .

All LAWS338 Occurrences

  • LAWS338-14S2 (C) Semester Two 2014