PrF:MVV240K World Trade Organisation

MVV240K Law of World Trade Organisation

Faculty of Law
Autumn 2017

Extent and Intensity

0/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).

Teacher(s)

Dr. Ana Kostava (lecturer), prof. JUDr. Ing. Michal Radvan, Ph.D. (deputy)

Guaranteed by

prof. JUDr. Ing. Michal Radvan, Ph.D.
Faculty of Law
Contact Person: Mgr. Věra Redrupová, B.A.
Supplier department: Faculty of Law

Timetable of Seminar Groups

MVV240K/01: Wed 1. 11. 16:40–18:10 025, 18:15–19:45 025, Thu 2. 11. 18:15–19:45 025, Mon 6. 11. 18:15–19:45 025, Tue 7. 11. 9:35–11:05 025, 11:10–12:40 025

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 37 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students should have an appreciation of the purpose and functions of the WTO and be familiar with its rules and jurisprudence. The course presumes no prior knowledge of economics or trade policy. It is an advantage, though not mandatory, to have a background in public international law.

Syllabus

1. From the Havana Charter to the WTO: Why Liberalize Trade? - Historical background, Bretton Woods origins, evolution from GATT to WTO;
- WTO legal structure, institutional provisions, decision-making, accession of new Members, role of civil society and NGOs
Reading: Understanding the WTO, publication available at: https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/understanding_e.pdf Pages 49-154, Van den Bossche
2. Border measures (tariffs, quotas, customs valuation, rules of origin) and Non-discrimination (MFN and National Treatment)
Reading: Pages 315-335, 345-346, 349-403 & 414-416, 418-498, Van den Bossche
3. Technical Barriers to Trade (technical regulations & standards) and Sanitary & phytosanitary (SPS) measures
Reading: Pages 850-891, 894-950, Van den Bossche
4. Trade in agriculture – market access and subsidies
Reading: Pages 835-845, Van den Bossche (Section 12.9 - Subsidies) • Pages 488-489, Van den Bossche (Section 7.2.2.3 – Quantitative Restrictions)
5. General exceptions (including GATT Articles XX and XXI) -- health, environment, and other concern
Reading: Pages 543-604, Van den Bossche (Chapter 8)
6. Dumping and antidumping measures and Subsidies and countervailing measures
Reading: Pages 674-742, Van den Bossche (Chapter 11) and • Pages 745-832, 834-835 & 845-849, Van den Bossche (Sections 12.1-12.6, 12.8 & 12.10)

Literature

See Teacher's information for the full list.

Teaching methods

The course's main method is interactive, a direct approach to learning English for academic and general purposes. The methods of the course will be diverse, but will include a combination of lecture, readings, discussion, independent work, group work, etc.
• One of the elements to ensure the interactive course is doing partial reading of the new material by students before the lecture.
• In order to have better comprehension of the issues of this complex subject, there is an expectation that students will make themselves familiar with the material in order to get actively engaged in putting questions during lecture.
• One of the most important reasons for success of the course is the constant active involvement of students in discussions during the seminar.
• In order to make discussions more active, different groups of students will at times be given homework to prepare presentations for the rest of the class on the topic relevant to the course.
Along with the oral presentation of material at the lecture, the method of demonstration will also be used at the lecture which will ensure the visual presentation of information. The demonstration of the material to learn will make the comprehension of the material easier. Particular attention shall be paid to discussing concrete issues and the joint consideration and analysis of interrelated issues. The concrete examples – cases – will be examined during the explanation of the material within the scope of each of the topics covered.
The lectures will be based on seminar method, implying the consideration of Appellate body cases. There shall be discussions and debates extensively promoted to have as many students involved in consideration of the topic as possible. The process of involvement of students in debates and discussions during seminars will not be only limited to promoting the discussion based on questions put by the professor. This method will develop the skills of debating, public speaking and justifying one’s position.

Assessment methods

The assessment of the class will be made on the basis of two take-home exams, each accounting for 50% and class participation as described below. Please note that there will be no adjustments of the times and dates indicated below unless this becomes necessary due to exceptional considerations.
The Initial Exam will be a short case study and/or essay question to be analysed individually by each student. It will be handed-out on Tuesday 7 November 13:00, via email. The exam should be completed and sent by email before Saturday 11 November, at 23:00. Further instructions about the exam will be provided throughout the course and together with the exam.
The Second Exam will consist of a number of shorter questions covering the material of the entire course. It will be handed-out on Monday 18 December, at 13:00 via email. The exam should be completed and sent by email before Friday 22 December, at 23:00. Further instructions about the exam will be provided throughout the course and together with the exam.
Class participation: Class participation is mandatory and will be taken into account in the final grade: active and high quality participation will be rewarded with a bonus of up to 1 pt (out of a total of 6.0 pt.). Persistent non-participation may be sanctioned by up to 0.5 pt per class. Both bonus and deduction are at the sole discretion of the Lecturer.

PrF:MVV240K World Trade Organisation - Course Information

MVV240K Law of World Trade Organisation

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