SYLLABUS OF THE COURSE
International Law. The Law of the World Trade Organization
Faculty of Law
Level of education: Bachelor’s
ECTS credits: 3
Vladimir V. Talanov
Visiting Lecturer
Program outline
1. Prerequisites
The course covers the fundamentals on the international economic law and the law of
the World Trade Organization as part of the public international law. The course
provides for a deeper immersion into the system of the WTO agreements and provides
the overview of the rules and traditions of the application thereof. The course explores
legal problems arising from the interplay between the WTO law and domestic legal
systems. Due to the comprehensive nature of the course, the basic knowledge and
interest in public international law is necessary for successful participation.
2. Goals, benefits, Learning outcomes
The course is tailored to give the competences for:
-
Legal research and analysis in the field of the WTO law;
Application of the WTO agreements;
Understanding the implications of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body findings;
Legal implications for the conflicts of international agreements, international
forum shopping.
Following the successful completion of the course, the student shall obtain the
following skills and knowledge:
- Understanding the essence, structure and recent trends in the field of the
WTO law;
- Ability to provide a reasoned and concise legal advice on the given cases in
the field;
- Ability to deal with the constructed moot situations and cases, develop the
solutions.
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3. Distribution of hours – 108 hours
Theme
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Introduction to the WTO law
WTO as an international organization.
Accession process
Sources of the WTO law
The structure of the WTO agreements
Interpretation of the WTO rules. Conflict of
norms
Non-discrimination rules
WTO dispute settlement system
Total
Class
hours
lectures
4
Self study
2
8
2
6
10
18
4
12
4
2
16
8
24
84
12
4. Course content
1.
Introduction to the WTO law
The historical underpinning of the WTO. The Bretton-Woods conference. The
Havana charter. The provisional application of the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade. Membership to the GATT, GATT dispute settlement mechanism. The
Uruguay Round of international trade negotiations. The formation of the WTO.
The WTO in the system of international public law. The functioning of the WTO.
Ongoing trade negotiations: Doha development agenda.
2.
WTO as an international organization. Accession process.
The Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO. The ‘member driven
organization’ principle. The bodies and committees of the WTO. Representation of
the Members in the WTO. Accession to the Organization. Observers. Decisionmaking process. ‘Reversed consensus’ rules and rules of the code of negotiations.
Blocks and groups of the WTO Members. Trade Policy Review Mechanism.
Dispute Settlement Body. Interaction of the WTO with the other international
organizations.
3. Sources of the WTO law
Sources of public international law. International agreements. General principles of
law. International customs. Jus cogens and erga omnes concepts. Peculiarities of
the WTO sources. The ‘clinical isolation’ of the WTO system. The use of other
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instruments of public international law for the interpretation of the WTO
provisions.
4. The structure of the WTO agreements
The overarching structure of the WTO Agreements. The concept of ‘single
undertaking’. The GATT and the goods agreements. Rules of conflict within the
GATT agreements. Availability of general exceptions in Article XX to the
provisions of the goods agreements. The GATS. The TRIPs Agreement.
Plurilateral agreements. The International Technology Agreement. Special and
differential provisions within the WTO system. Legal status of the WTO accession
documents.
5. Interpretation of the WTO rules. Conflict of norms
General rules of interpretation of international agreements. The Vienna Convention
on the Law of Treaties. The text, context, object and purpose of the agreement.
Secondary sources of interpretation of international agreements. The use of other
international agreements for the interpretation of the WTO agreements. The value
of subsequent state practice. The rules of the avoidance of conflict, consistent
interpretation. The concept of ‘treaty shopping’.
6. Non-discrimination rules
The basic WTO rules on non-discrimination. MFN and NT: scope and
interrelation. Border measures and domestic measures. The concept of ‘product
likeness’ in Articles I and III of the GATT. The interpretation of the provisions by
the Dispute Settlement Body.
7. WTO dispute settlement system
The functioning of the WTO dispute settlement system. The adoption of the
reports. The initiation of a dispute in the WTO. Attribution of the measure to a
state. Panel process. Appellate review. The legal force of the decisions by the
adjudicating bodies.
5. Assessment
Type of testing
Form of testing
Parameters
Current
In-class work
Final test
Test
Participation of the students in the inclass discussions and case-studies
Written test with a theoretical question
on one of the fundamental matters of
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the course and a case for analysis and
solution
6. The reading materials
Compulsory reading:
Van den Bossche, P. (2008), The Law and Policy of the World Trade
Organization: Texts, Cases and Materials, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press.
Recommended reading:
Capling, A., Low, P. (eds.) (2010), World Trade Organization, Cambridge
University Press.
Guzman, A., Sykes, A. (eds.) (2008), Research Handbook in International
Economic Law, Edward Elgar Publishing.
Matsushita, M., Schoenbaum, Th. and Mavroidis, P. (2006), World Trade
Organization: Law, Practice, and Policy, Oxford University Press.
More reading to be provided to the students in the electronic format prior to the
course.
Contact person
Vladimir V. Talanov
vladimir.talanov@gmail.com
+7 (985) 289-76-40 // +7 (905) 287-05-61
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