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  3. Global Health, Trade and Investment Law

Global Health, Trade and Investment Law (LAWS90092)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Not available in 2018

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Overview

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Health, trade and investment laws and norms interact in multiple ways, both to the benefit of health and to its detriment. This subject explores both the harmonies and the tensions across these critical areas of policy and governance at legal, normative, operational and institutional levels. It draws out some of the major themes by examining a number of high-profile areas of controversy in detail, in particular the World Trade Organization and investment treaty challenges to Australia’s tobacco plain packaging laws; the tensions between intellectual property protection and access to affordable medicines, medical technologies and devices; and contests over the negotiation of new trade and investment agreements, particularly their implications for governments’ regulatory space to protect and promote health. It is conducted by two leading global health law practitioners who bring both academic expertise and practical experience.

Principal topics include:

  • Global health law and governance
  • International trade and investment law and governance
  • International trade and investment challenges to tobacco control
  • Trade and investment law issues in access to affordable medicines, medical technologies and devices
  • Trade and investment law issues in the regulation of alcohol and unhealthy food
  • The protection of health in the negotiation and implementation of trade and investment agreements, including the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement
  • The role of evidence in health-trade-investment policy development and litigation
  • The opportunities and challenges for achieving multi-sectoral health-trade-investment collaboration and understanding

Intended learning outcomes

Students who complete this subject will:



  • Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the major global health law obligations, the way in which global health law is constituted, and the key global health institutions and actors
  • Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the major substantive obligations, and the key institutions and actors in international trade and investment law
  • Have a nuanced awareness and understanding of the current harmonies and tensions between global health concerns, and international trade and investment laws and norms, including in relation to tobacco control, access to medicines, and the regulation of alcohol and unhealthy food
  • Have a sophisticated understanding of the place of health in the negotiation and implementation of international trade and investment agreements
  • Be able to apply the relevant global health, and international trade and investment law and norms to a range of topical factual scenarios relating to health, so as to reach logical and reasoned conclusions about the rights and obligations of the various state and non-state actors involved
  • Be able to analyse critically and reflect on the role of global health, and trade and investment law actors and institutions in responding to, and resolving, current concerns in global health
  • Be able to appreciate and evaluate the different perspectives on current issues in health found in global health law, and international trade and investment law
  • Be able to be an engaged, knowledgeable and critical participant in debates concerning global health, and international trade and investment laws, norms and institutions
  • Have transmitted knowledge, ideas, analysis and reflections on an issue in global health law and trade and investment law to a specialist legal audience
  • Have undertaken advanced legal research and analysed, reflected and synthesised knowledge, information, concepts and theories to produce a substantial and expert written work on an issue in global health and trade and investment law
  • Have been required to demonstrate the autonomy, judgment, responsibility and accountability expected of an advanced learner of global health and trade and investment law.

Last updated: 3 November 2022