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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 a Member 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) Members’ 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.Recommended preparation for this course is LAWS324 Principles of Public International Law.
Students will be expected to gain a solid knowledge of the relevant legal framework and to develop 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:For the Essay - Carry out independent research. Communicate the findings of their research. Understand and explain the relationship between the WTO agreements and selected other instruments. Locate relevant primary materials. Subject those primary materials to critical analysis and use them to create an argument based on international law. Relate the knowledge acquired to current matters of international concern.For the Final Exam - Identify legal issues in factual scenarios and construct legal responses to those issues. Understand, interpret, apply and critique the WTO agreements and other relevant legal instruments. Read, understand, interpret and critique treaties and the rules relating to their operation.
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:
Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award
Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.
Globally aware
Students will comprehend the influence of global conditions on their discipline and will be competent in engaging with global and multi-cultural contexts.
(i) LAWS101; and (ii) LAWS110;
LAWS202-LAWS206
Christian Riffel
This course may be assessed by way of an essay (35%) and a final exam (65%).The assessment in this course will be confirmed in the first week of lectures.
Bossche, P., Zdouc, W; The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization : Text, Cases and Materials ; 4th edition; Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Domestic fee $806.00
International fee $3,775.00
* 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 .