WTO Law and Dispute Settlement (LAWS70322)
Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
Contact information
June
Teaching staff:
Pasha Hsieh (Subject Coordinator)
For current student enquiries, contact the Law School Academic Support Office
December
Teaching staff:
Jo Langille (Coordinator)
For current student enquiries, contact the Law School Academic Support Office
Overview
| Availability(Quotas apply) | June December |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is at the centre of ongoing debates concerning sovereignty and development. Its dispute settlement system has been active in resolving a wide range of international disputes, with jurisdiction over some of the largest and most significant matters arising today. This subject offers a sophisticated understanding of the WTO and its dispute settlement system, including a detailed analysis of the fundamental principles and jurisprudence of WTO law. The instructor is a leading scholar in WTO law and a former Legal Officer with the Appellate Body Secretariat of the WTO.
Indicative list of principal topics:
- History and objectives of the WTO
- WTO dispute settlement
- Core obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994):
- Tariff bindings
- Non-discrimination (most-favoured nation (MFN) and national treatment)
- Prohibition on quantitative restrictions
- Exceptions to WTO obligations, eg environment, health, public morals, culture, preferential trade agreements, national security, and special and differential treatment for developing countries
- Other WTO agreements, eg:
- General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
- Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
- Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs)
- Trade remedies (countervailing measures, anti-dumping measures and safeguards) and subsidies
- Current developments in the WTO
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have a general underestanding of the history and economic theory underlying the WTO and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1947 (GATT 1947)
- Be capable of critically examining the legal framework of the WTO, including the relationship between the various agreements, the relationship between the WTO agreements and other national and international laws, and the dispute settlement system
- Have an advanced understanding of the tensions that may arise between WTO objectives and other objectives in national or international law, and how these tensions may be resolved
- Be able to interpret and apply, at an advanced level, certain key WTO agreements, including advocating a particular position in a given hypothetical, potential or past case
- Be familiar with the details of some of the major WTO dispute settlement decisions regarding these WTO agreements, and be able to assess these decisions critically
- Be familiar with current issues in the WTO
- Have the cognitive and technical skills to generate creative and critical ideas relating to international trade regulation, in the WTO and in other forums
Last updated: 4 March 2025