Research Seminar "World Trade Organization"

2019/2020

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

4

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Department of Financial Law (School of Law)

Course type:

Compulsory course

When:

2 year, 4 module

Instructor

Talanov, Vladimir

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course aims at developing the skills of legal analysis and research in the field of international law using the legal framework of the World Trade Organization. The course focuses on the skill of interpreting international treaties, resolving legal controversies, structuring legal argumentation through the analysis of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body cases. The course covers the underlying principles of international trade law, such as most-favoured nation treatment and national treatment, as well as the basic features of the WTO as an international organization, such as decision making procedures and accession

Learning Objectives

• The course develops the skills of students to interpret and apply international treaties, interpret and apply the findings of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, provides an understanding of the basic structure of the WTO institutions and legal texts, and fosters knowledge and skills necessary for practice in international trade litigation, skills useful in international trade negotiations and policymaking. Following the successful completion of the course, the student shall obtain the following skills and knowledge: understanding of the place of international trade rules within the international legal and political system; ability to resolve conflicts between international treaties, including in the field of international trade; ability to apply the rules of the WTO Agreements and plead cases based on WTO rules; ability to provide a reasoned and concise legal advice on the given cases; ability to deal with the constructed moot situations and cases, develop the solutions

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Develop the skills in the field of legal analysis, research and application
• Develop the skills in the field of judicial work and in the field of law enforcement
• Develop the skills in the field of legal analysis of documents, skills of legal opinions and pleadings drafting
• Knowledge of the system of legal texts, ability to resolve legal conflicts
• Skills of students to interpret and apply the WTO agreements developed
• Skills of students to interpret and apply the findings of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body developed
• Skills of students to formulate the position of national authorities in international trade disputes developed
• Detailed knowledge of the dispute settlement system of the WTO, including its system of sanctions

Course Contents

• The system of international economic law
  Sources of international economic law. Domestic regulation of foreign trade. Protectionism and possible measures to fight foreign competition. Economic theory of international trade law. International mechanisms to secure compliance. Game theory as applied in international trade law. Forms of international cooperation in the field of international trade. Major institutions of international economic law. Key international organizations involved in international economic regulation and their functions
• History of international trade law
  History of international trade regulation. Oldest trade agreements between nations. The results of the “Great Depression” and the first international attempts to restrict tariffs. Bretton Woods conference and its results. IMF and the World Bank. International Trade Organization and the Havana Charter draft. Review of the Havana Charter provisions. Preparation of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade 1947. Provisional application of the agreement. Tariff rounds. Uruguay round of trade negotiations and the system of the WTO. Doha round of trade negotiations. Marrakesh agreement. The system of the WTO bodies. Decision-making at the WTO. WTO Founding Members and WTO accession. Principal accession documents. Withdrawal from the WTO
• WTO Legal texts
  System and structure of the WTO legal texts. “Single undertaking”. Annex 1A Agreements. The general Interpretative Note to Annex 1A agreements and the rules on conflict resolution. Article XIX of the GATT and Article 2 of the Agreement on Safeguards: Argentina – Footwear approach. Applicability of GATT exceptions to Annex 1A agreements and to the Accession protocols. GATT, GATS and the TRIPS. Plurilateral trade agreements
• WTO law and public international law
  WTO law as a ‘”self-contained regime – US – Gasoline position. Applicability of the general principles of international law to WTO agreements. WTO agreements and other international treaties. Other sources of international law in the interpretation of the WTO legal texts. Applicability of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969. Applicable law before WTO Dispute Settlement Body and the jurisdiction of the DSB. Competing jurisdictions of international trade tribunals. Fragmentation of international trade law
• Fundamental principles of international trade law
  Fundamental principles of international trade regulation. Good faith. General prohibition of discrimination. Most-favoured nation principle. Permitted exceptions from MFN principles. WTO DSB jurisprudence on the interpretation of Article I of the GATT. National treatment. Concept of less favourable treatment. Product likeness. Specific exception from the general national treatment obligation for trade in goods. National treatment in services trade. WTO DSB jurisprudence on the interpretation of Article III of the GATT. Interplay between Articles I and III of the GATT – EC – Commercial Vessels case. Freedom of transit in the WTO rules. Waivers from obligations and the procedure of obtaining them. General exceptions under the GATT as interpreted and applied by the WTO DSB. Security exceptions and other exceptions under the GATT. Regional economic integration. Free trade areas, customs unions and common markets. GATT requirements on the formation of regional trade agreements: Turkey – Textiles case
• Tariffs and non-tariff barriers
  Restriction of tariffs in the WTO. Tariff bindings and the Schedule of concessions. Interpretation of Article II of the GATT. Other duties and charges. Harmonized system and the Nomenclature of External trade of the Eurasian Economic Union. Reclassification of products and new products. EC – Chicken cuts case. Customs valuation. Modification of Schedules pf concessions. Border measures and internal measures: China – Autoparts. General elimination of quantitative restrictions. “Other measures” under Article XI of the GATT. Examples of the possible application of quantitative restrictions. Non-discriminatory administration of quotas. Tariff rate quotas. Rules on technical and sanitary barriers. Export quotas and their regulation within the WTO. Other possible non-tariff barriers. Possible exceptions under Articles II and XI of the GATT. Trade remedies: different types pf the measures and grounds for their invocation. Trade investigations. Review of trade remedies application in the Eurasian Economic Union
• WTO dispute settlement mechanism
  Dispute settlement understanding. Initiation of a dispute. Grounds for complaints. Nullification and impairment of benefits or attainment of GATT objectives. Request for consultations and the Request for the establishment of the Panel. Composition of the Tribunal and the role of WTO Director General. Terms of reference and the review of expired measures. Mediation and good offices. Third parties to the dispute: status and rights. Extended third party rights. Consideration of the case by the Panel. The role of the WTO Secretariat. WTO Appellate Body: composition, functions, terms of office. Suspension of concessions (US – Gambling). Carousel suspension of concessions (EC – Hormones). Compliance proceedings and ways to foster compliance. Effective breach of WTO agreements: views of the major scholars
• Perspectives of the development of international economic law
  Reforming the WTO and its institutions. Reforming proposals regarding the functioning of the Appellate Body. Alternative measures to hear appeals or secure the functioning of the dispute settlement system absent the functioning Appellate Body. Amendments to the TRIPS Agreement and the new agreements and declarations negotiated. Fisheries subsidies talks and the perspectives of a comprehensive trade agreement in this field. Challenges from regional trade agreements and the new matters on the international trade regulation agenda

Assessment Elements

• Written Assessment
  In-class written assessment takes form a resolution of a practical case, based on the material covered in class and during self-study. Students are informed on the date of the in-class written assessment no less than 7 days beforehand. The in-class written assessment is closed book; students could not use any materials or devices. The duration of the assessment is 45 minutes
• Written exam
  The written exam takes form of a resolution of two practical cases based on the material covered in class and during self-study. Students need to demonstrate the knowledge of international economic law and jurisprudence, as well as demonstrate the skills of argumentation. Students are informed on the date of the written exam no less than 7 days beforehand. The written exam is open book. The duration of the assessment is 90 minutes. Cheating in any form (including copying works of other students) is strictly forbidden! Экзаменационное задание размещается в системе LMS. Компьютер студента должен удовлетворять следующим требованиям: наличие рабочей камеры и микрофона, стабильное Интернет-соединение. Для участия в экзамене студент должен за 15 минут до его начала подключиться к ZOOM-конференции и присутствовать на ней на протяжении всего экзамена. При подключении к конференции студент должен включить свою камеру и не отключать ее на протяжении всего экзамена. По просьбе экзаменатора студент должен повернуть камеру и продемонстрировать то, что находится перед компьютером, а также в помещении, в котором находится студент. При подключении к конференции студент должен использовать свое имя и фамилию (язык написания имени может быть как русский, так и английский). Во время экзамена студентам запрещено любое общение (обсуждать задания с третьими лицами, а также друг с другом, использовать социальные сети и любые другие мессенджеры запрещено), кроме как с экзаменатором и/или работником факультета. Во время экзамена студентам разрешено использовать Microsoft Word, встроенный в ПК калькулятор, LMS, ZOOM, СПС Консультант Плюс и/или Гарант и другое программное обеспечение или сайты, использование которых санкционировано экзаменатором. В случае нарушения связи во время экзамена (потеря изображения с камеры студента, отключение студента от ZOOM-конференции и т.п.) студент должен незамедлительно сообщить об этом экзаменатору и работнику факультета, при возможности зафиксировать сбой используя функцию printscreen и продолжить выполнение экзаменационного задания. Пересдача проводится в соответствии с программой дисциплины и локальными актами НИУ ВШЭ.

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (4 module)
  0.3 * Written Assessment + 0.7 * Written exam

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Guzmán, A. T., & Sykes, A. O. (2007). Research Handbook in International Economic Law. Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Marceau, G. Z. (2001). Conflicts of norms and conflicts of jurisdictions : the relationship between the WTO agreement and MEAs and other treaties.
• Matsushita, M., Schoenbaum, T. J., Mavroidis, P. C., & Hahn, M. J. (2015). The World Trade Organization : Law, Practice, and Policy: Vol. Third edition. OUP Oxford.
• Mavroidis, P. C., Horn, H., & American Law Institute. (2013). Legal and Economic Principles of World Trade Law. Cambridge University Press.
• Mitchell, A. D., Sornarajah, M., & Voon, T. (2015). Good Faith and International Economic Law (Vol. First edition). Oxford, United Kingdom: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1200898
• Rolland, S. E. (2013). Development at the WTO. Oxford University Press.
• Stoll, P.-T., & Schorkopf, F. (2006). WTO : World Economic Order, World Trade Law. Leiden: Brill | Nijhoff. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=202942
• Van den Bossche,Peter, & Zdouc,Werner. (2017). The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization. Cambridge University Press.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Cottier, T. (DE-588)1011627426, (DE-576)160629268. (2005). International trade regulation : law and policy in the WTO, the European Union and Switzerland; cases, materials and comments / Thomas Cottier; Matthias Oesch. Stämpfli [u.a.].
• Gantz, D. A. . (DE-588)171114132, (DE-576)253796407. (2013). Liberalizing international trade after Doha : multilateral, plurilateral, regional, and unilateral initiatives / David A. Gantz. Cambridge Univ. Press.
• Low, P., & Capling, A. (2010). Governments, Non-State Actors and Trade Policy-Making : Negotiating Preferentially or Multilaterally? Cambridge University Press.
• Mavroidis, P. (2008). Trade in Goods: The GATT and the Other Agreements Regulating Trade in Goods. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.b.oxp.obooks.9780199552139
• Piérola, F. (2014). The Challenge of Safeguards in the WTO. Cambridge University Press.
• Van Damme, I. (2010). Treaty Interpretation by the WTO Appellate Body. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.2ED13F43