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  3. International Trade Law

International Trade Law (LAWS70028)

Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

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The rules governing international trade and investment are of great importance to almost every country in the world. Many legal relationships are necessary for goods to be traded from one country to another and for parties in one country to invest in another, and they are all predictably flavoured by the issues that arise when different legal systems interact. This subject gives an overview of the private international law issues that arise when goods are traded from one country to another, and considers the public international law issues that arise when governments try to influence the subject of international trade as well as the international and regional framework that exists for this purpose. The goal of the subject is to examine the international legal frameworks governing trade.

The principal topics are as follows:

  • Commercial trading relationships
    • International sale contracts and the law governing them
    • Framework agreements
    • Payment  mechanisms
    • The impact of 2020s technology (trade in data, blockchain verification, etc)
  • Long-term trading relationships
    • Antitrust/pro-competitive concerns about exclusive distribution arrangements
    • Parallel importing in relation to products protected by intellectual property rights
    • Compulsory licensing
  • GATT/WTO
    • The framework as designed, including dispute settlement
    • The framework in the 2020s, including (particularly) dispute settlement
    • The impact of regional trade agreements and bilateral free trade agreements on the multilateral ‘rules-based’ trading system

Intended learning outcomes

A student who has successfully completed this subject should be able to:



  • Examine and explain the legal frameworks governing trade in goods
  • Explain how international conventions, treaties and intergovernmental agreements promote, regulate and restrain trade in goods
  • Analyse the various ways in which government regulation and policy may affect international commercial transactions
  • Analyse and explain increasing trend towards integration and cooperation in the area of trade, particularly in the Asia Pacific region
  • Analyse the ways in which the foundational assumptions of existing legal models of international trade relationships need to be modified to take account of technological developments affecting trade in the 2020s.

Last updated: 31 January 2024