ILAP608-12S2 (C) Semester Two 2012
Law of International Trade

Description

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 152 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 not focus on TRIPS but students are advised that this aspect of the WTO is covered in intellectual property courses.

Please Note:  This course may NOT be offered in 2013.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be expected to gain a solid basic 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.  By the end of this course, students should:

•  Understand, explain and apply the principal features of the WTO Agreement  and other relevant instruments of application to international trade;
•  Understand and explain the relationship between the WTO Agreement and selected other instruments;
•  Relate their knowledge of the above to current matters of international concern;
•  Locate primary materials relevant to international law;
•  Subject those primary materials to criticial analysis and use them to create an argument based on international law;
•  Read, understand, interpret and critique treaties and the rules relating to their operation;
•  Identify international legal issues in factual scenarios and to construct international legal responses to those issues;
•  Carry out independent research;
•  Reflect on their experience and performance and plan further development of their skills.

Pre-requisites

Restrictions

For further information see School of Law.