Developing Countries and the WTO

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2013:

It is recommended that students have either a background in international law or have successfully completed Principles of International Law.

Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.

The Melbourne Law Masters welcomes applications from students with disabilities. The inherent academic requirements for study in the Melbourne Law Masters are:

• The ability to attend a minimum of 75% of classes and actively engage in the analysis and critique of complex materials and debate;
• The ability to read, analyse and comprehend complex written legal materials and complex interdisciplinary materials;
• The ability to clearly and independently communicate in writing a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and to critically evaluate these;
• The ability to clearly and independently communicate orally a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and critically evaluate these;
• The ability to work independently and as a part of a group;
• The ability to present orally and in writing legal analysis to a professional standard.

Students who feel their disability will inhibit them from meeting these inherent academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit: www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject will examine the economic and legal issues facing developing countries in their engagement within the World Trade Organization (WTO). A central organising theme will be the evolving theory and practice relating to the role of economic liberalisation in the developmental processes of these countries. The lecturer has extensive experience in the area in research and teaching and has also acted as a consultant to a variety of governmental and intergovernmental agencies.

This subject will examine the economic and legal issues facing developing countries in their engagement within the WTO. A central organising theme will be the evolving theory and practice on the role of economic liberalisation in the developmental processes of these countries.

Principal topics will include:

• History of developing country engagement in the GATT–WTO
• Evolving theory on trade and development
• GATT legal framework: Pre-Uruguay Round
• Overview of Uruguay Round and WTO legal framework
• Agriculture
• Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
• Trade remedies: Anti-dumping, countervailing duties and safeguards
• The ‘fair trade’ debate: Environmental and labour standards
• The ‘non-WTO’ Singapore issue of foreign investment
• The developmental implications of bilateralism and regionalism
• The future: The Doha Ministerial Declaration.

A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

• Be able to critique the role of economic liberalism and any necessary complementary policies in the process of economic development
• Be able to assess the evolution of the legal framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) from the perspective of developing countries
• Be able to identify necessary changes to the institutional and substantive coverage of the WTO to better reflect developing country interests.

10,000 word research paper (100%) (17 February 2014) on a topic approved by the subject coordinator

Core subject materials will be provided free of charge to all students. Some subjects require further texts to be purchased. Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.