WTO Law and Dispute Settlement

This subject is not offered in 2011.

Students who have completed Principles of WTO Law or WTO Dispute Settlement may not undertake this subject.

Principal topics will include:

• History and objectives of the WTO
• Core disciplines 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 commitments; e.g. environment, health, public morals, culture, free trade agreements, and special and differential treatment for developing countries
• Current challenges facing the WTO and the Doha Development Round of negotiations.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is at the centre of ongoing debates concerning both fragmentation of public international law and persistent inequities between developed and developing countries. It also provides one of the most active systems in the world for resolving 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.

A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

• Be familiar with the history of the WTO and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1947 (GATT 1947)
• Understand the legal framework of the WTO, including the relationship between the various agreements, the relationship between the WTO agreements and national laws, and the dispute settlement process
• Understand 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 certain key WTO agreements, including advocating a particular position in a given hypothetical, potential or past case
• Be familiar with 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 and negotiations in the WTO.

Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.