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Global Health, Trade and Investment Law (LAWS90092)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Not available in 2021
Please refer to the return to campus page for more information on these delivery modes and students who can enrol in each mode based on their location.
Overview
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This subject will be delivered online in 2020 over the scheduled dates.
Health, trade, intellectual property 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 key themes by examining the major global health challenges of our time including global pandemics (primarily through discussion of COVID-19), noncommunicable diseases, and antimicrobial resistance. The subject examines a number of high-profile areas of controversy in detail, in particular restrictions on international traffic and trade imposed by countries in response to COVID-19; the World Trade Organization and investment treaty challenges to tobacco packaging laws; and the tensions between intellectual property protection and access to affordable medicines, medical technologies, devices and vaccines.
Principal topics include:
- Global health law and governance
- International trade, intellectual property and investment law and governance
- International cooperation to control the spread of infectious diseases, including through the International Health Regulations
- International trade and investment challenges to tobacco control
- Trade, intellectual property and investment law issues in pharmaceutical innovation and access to affordable medicines, medical technologies, devices and vaccines
- Trade, intellectual property and investment law issues in the development of antimicrobial resistance and in efforts to combat it
- Trade and investment law issues in the regulation of alcohol and unhealthy food
- 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, intellectual property and investment laws and norms, including in relation to pandemics, tobacco control, pharmaceutical innovation, access to medicines and vaccines, and antimicrobial resistance
- Be able to apply the relevant global health, and international trade, intellectual property 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 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: 10 November 2023
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Students must meet one of the following prerequisite options:
Option 1
Admission into a Melbourne Law Masters program
Option 2
Admission into the MC-JURISD Juris Doctor
JD students are required to have studied an international law subject.
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
LAWS50109 | World Trade Organisation Law | Not available in 2024 |
12.5 |
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 10 November 2023
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Class participation | Throughout the teaching period | 10% |
Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 25 November | 90% |
Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance. Note there is no attendance hurdle when the subject is delivered online. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 10 November 2023
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
Not available in 2021
Time commitment details
136-150 hours The pre-teaching period commences four weeks before the subject commencement date. From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences.
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students. Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 10 November 2023
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available on the LMS in the pre-teaching period.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 10 November 2023