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WTO Law and Society

Module description

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) aims to create an open, non-discriminatory and rule-based multilateral trading system. The module will focus on the substantive law of the WTO, the key principles and rules of international trade. It will provide you with the necessary knowledge and analytical skills to critically examine the relevant legal texts of the WTO agreements and their basic rules and concepts, such as ‘national treatment’ and ‘most favoured nation’, as well as to understand the manner in which those rules have been interpreted and applied by the WTO’s dispute settlement body. The module will also give you the opportunity to examine the societal impacts of world trade law in domestic settings and its implications for human rights, environmental protection and food security and how these issues have been dealt with by the WTO dispute settlement bodies and within the institution itself. The module will appeal to anyone who is interested in a practical introduction to the methodology of WTO law.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to introduce you to the basic principles and rules of the WTO as well as its institutional framework as a multilateral trade organisation. It will focus on key elements of these basic principles and rules by examining their application and interpretation in cases under the WTO’s dispute settlement body. By research-led and interactive learning/teaching the module will enable you to speculate on the role of the WTO between WTO Members and the potential and actual impacts that the implementation of WTO rules pose for governments in pursuing their own trade and implications of trade rules for non-trade policies such as public health and environment and to consider the extent to which the removal of tariff and non-tariff trade barriers can effectively stimulate socio-economic development.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. analyse critically the substance and application of the major concepts and principles of WTO law as interpreted by the dispute settlement body of the WTO;
• 2. undertake complex critical evaluation of institutional and procedural rules of the WTO, particularly on the dispute settlement proceedings using specialist literature and current research;
• 3. demonstrate deep and critical awareness of a wide range of social and contextual implications of the relationships between the WTO law and the regulation of international business activity;
• 4. identify, explain and evaluate some of the current challenges that governments face in implementing the WTO agreements in national jurisdictions critically and comprehensively and review the future development of the WTO rules innovatively;

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. demonstrate flexible and innovative ability to identify and analyse complex legal problems arising from the implementation of international trade regulations within regional, national and sub-national settings, and select appropriate methods for investigating and critically evaluating them;
• 6. integrate and assess a range of complex information affecting policy options available to governments in developing and applying the regulation of international trade based on your knowledge and analysis of existing research and literature;

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. identify, retrieve and use the full range of relevant library-based and electronic resources and information dealing with the regulation of international trade efficiently and autonomously in order to develop your own arguments and opinions with minimum guidance;
• 8. communicate and engage in debate effectively, confidently and autonomously, and deliver coherent, clear and effective presentations, orally and in writing, in a manner appropriate to the discipline; and
• 9. work independently and effectively, and to manage time well in preparing for scheduled learning activities, exercises and assessments.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover the following topics:

• Introduction to international trade, the WTO Agreements
• The WTO as an institution and its dispute settlement system
• Principles of non-discrimination: MFN and NT and their role for sustainable environment
• Trade in services, public services and the human right to health
• Agreement on agriculture and food security
• Intellectual properties and cultural heritage
• Intellectual properties, medicine and global health
• Various case studies such as negotiation exercises; role of product and process measures for environmental security; medical tourism, healthcare services and the right to health; food security and the right to food.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

P. Van den Bossche, The Law and Policy of The World Trade Organisation: Text, Cases and Materials (3rd ed. CUP, 2013)

S. Lester et al, World Trade Law :Text, Materials and Commentary (2nd ed. Hart, 2012)

M. Trebilcock et al, The Regulation of International Trade (4th ed. Routledge, 2012)

M. Matsushita et al, The World Trade Organization: Law, Practice, and Policy (2nd ed. OUP, 2006)

WTO, Understanding the WTO (WTO, 2011)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Legal texts – WTO Agreements: http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/final_e.htm

WTO dispute cases: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/dispu_status_e.htm

Key words search

WTO, non-discrimination, national treatment, most favoured nation (MFN), Tariff, Quota, Market Access, GATT, GATS, SCM, ADA, AoA, International Trade, International Economic Law