International Trade Law

The course will give an understanding of the nature and function of the treaties and international institutions governing international trade. You will get in-depth understanding of selected areas of international trade law, with a particular focus on the basic rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. You will be trained to function as a lawyer in trade and investment disputes and as a negotiator in trade negotiations.

Students are expected to have prior knowledge of international law and some general knowledge of international trade law.

Students must fill one of these requirements:

• Passed 1st - 3rd year of the 5-years degree Master of Laws (Master i rettsvitenskap at UiO) (or exams that qualify for exemption for these) or
• Hold a 5-years Master¿s degree in Laws (Master i rettsvitenskap at UiO) or equivalent.

Starting Autumn 2013 exception from the formal prerequisites will be given only to students on the faculty's exchange programmes, and not to students with admission to other Master`s programmes at the University of Oslo.

You may register for this course if you have admission to a Master || chr(38) ||rsquo;s programme at UiO or the faculty || chr(38) ||#39;s exchange programme. You can also register for this course if you do not have admission to any programme at UiO, but meet the formal prerequistites.

All students are required meet the formal prerequistites.

Have you met the formal prerequisites at another institution than the University of Oslo, and the results are not formally registered at UiO, you must apply for admission to courses at Master || chr(38) ||rsquo;s level . Students with admission to Master || chr(38) ||rsquo;s degree programmes at other faculties than The Faculty of Law must also apply for admission.

When your admission is in order you must register for courses in StudentWeb

Students must fill one of these requirements:

• Passed 1st - 3rd year of the 5-years degree Master of Laws (Master i rettsvitenskap at UiO) (or exams that qualify for exemption for these) or
• Hold a 5-years Master’s degree in Laws (Master i rettsvitenskap at UiO) or equivalent.

Exemptions from the formal prerequisites will be given to students with admission to the faculty`s own exchange or master’s degree programmes. This rule does not apply to students with admission to other master’s degree programmes at the University of Oslo, unless otherwise agreed.

Lectures.

Language of teaching for this course is English. This means that all
communication during lectures/seminars will be in English, and all
literature and auxiliary materials are in English.

Students are graded on the basis of a portfolio assessment.

• Assessment 1: Negotiation of a current trade topic in a multilateral setting. Oral presentation and discussion in groups (ca. 90 min), a written individual memorial (max 1000 words) associated with their oral contribution. The written memorial must be produced within 90 mins after the oral presentation. The oral and written part is weighed equally.
• Assessment 2: The assessment is based on an actual dispute, taking as its starting point the appeal of an existing panel report. Oral presentation and discussion in groups (ca. 90 min), a written individual memorial (max 1000 words) associated with their oral contribution. The written memorial must be produced within 90 mins after the oral presentation. The oral and written part is weighed equally.

Assessment 1 counts for 40 % of the final grade, assessment 2 counts for 60 % of the final grade.

The students register for groups in Canvas prior each assessment and will be assessed on their individual contribution to the oral assessment and the individual written component.

Regulations for support materials permitted at examination for courses taught in English . Please read all three chapters.

Previous exam papers

You can usually resit an exam, but the conditions depend on whether you had a valid reason for absence from the regular exam. Read more about resitting an exam.

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

The language of examination for this course is English. This means that the examination question will be given in English, and students may answer in English only.

Other

The language for this course is English. Students enrolled in the
Masterprogrammet i rettsvitenskap must pass one
English subject as part of their degree, this course will meet these
obligations.

You may request an explanation of your grades, and you may also appeal against your grades or make a complaint about formal examination errors. Read more about explanations and appeals.

Evaluation

Feedback from our students is essential to us in our efforts to ensure and further improve the high quality of our programmes and courses. All courses are subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students on a particular course to participate in a more comprehensive, periodic evaluation of this course.

Overlapping courses

Course description

International law plays a significant role for the integration of the global economy. The course offers insight into one main branch of international economic law, international trade Law with a particular focus on the World Trade Organization, which covers trade in goods and services. Selected areas of substantive law will be studied during the course, such as obligations concerning market access, non-discrimination, subsidies, dumping and the relationship between international trade law and other areas of international law. Dispute settlement is a central element in international trade, and the course will provide in-depth study of selected cases and examine strengths and weaknesses of the dispute settlement systems. Negotiations to reform existing agreements and to establish new obligations are central in international trade. The course will examine how such negotiations are organised and discuss how negotiations may proceed in the future.

Achievement Requirements

Knowledge:

Students are expected to have thorough knowledge of the following topics based on the reading list:

• The nature and structure of the World Trade Organization
• The characteristics of the WTO dispute settlement system
• The rules on most-favoured-nation treatment and national treatment in the context of GATT and GATS
• Rules on tariffs on trade in goods
• Rules on quantitative restrictions on and technical barriers to trade in goods (the TBT Agreement)
• Rules on market access under GATS
• Rules on dumping and subsidies
• Rules concerning general exceptions in GATT and GATS (these subjects cover, inter alia, the relationship between trade and environment)
• The WTO and developing countries

Skills and General competence:

The course will give an understanding of the nature and function of the treaties and international institutions governing international trade. Students will attain in-depth understanding of selected areas of international trade law, with a particular focus on the basic rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. They read and discuss WTO cases and fact patterns. Students are tra

If you have a disability or a health problem that entails significant inconvenience in an examination situation, you may be considered for special examination arrangements. Mothers who are breastfeeding may apply for extra time to complete the exam.

Please se Detailed regulations for the Faculty of Law, Chapter 3 regarding application, responsibilities and special measures.

A student can sit for this exam up to 3 times. If a student wishes to withdraw from the exam, s/he must do this in StudentWeb at least two weeks prior to the first day of the exam. Failure to do so will be counted as one of the three opportunities to sit for the exam. A study programme may have rules that further limit the number of times a student may re-take this exam. In such instances the rules of the study programme will have priority.