JJUS00002U WTO Law, Policy and negotiation

Volume 2013/2014
Content
• WTO law and policy
• WTO daily functioning of the WTO – representing WTO Members
• Define WTO Members’ negotiation positions
• WTO negotiations – representing WTO Members

The objective of this course to provide the students with a solid understanding of WTO law, policy and issues relating to negotiations. The innovative and special part of this course is that it primarily consists of student exercises relating to either WTO-negotiations or “daily functioning” meetings in WTO Committees where the students participate in a role-playing exercise. The students work together in groups throughout the course where each group represents a specific WTO Member State.


Learning Outcome

The students should be able to:
 
KNOWLEDGE:
Describe the functioning of the multilateral trading system in the WTO; purpose, history, organizational structure, trade policy issues, daily functioning in negotiations and various committees, including different political realities of different members and multilateral negotiations.

Explain the founding principles of the multilateral trading system (non-discriminatory international trade, MFN and national treatment) as well as the functioning of the dispute settlement system.

SKILLS:
Identify the different types of reports, the legal status of reports and style of interpretation.- Understand the diplomacy of the WTO; i.e. understanding the differences of the roles of the WTO Secretariat, NGOs, Member States.

Interpret and apply WTO Law to a new set of facts as well as being able to “navigate” between the different WTO-agreements and identify which agreement(s) that is (are) the relevant for a given trade-topic.

To identify and be able to make decisions about the larger trade-offs in negotiation situations as well as daily situations in deciding whether to bring a WTO case based on an overall political and legal evaluation.

Brief Ministers, NGOs and the Press – acting as a diplomat for a WTO Member.

Communicate and formulate her/his knowledge and arguments professionally and linguistically correct and in a structured and coherent way (both oral and written)


COMPETENCES:
Identify and suggest ways forward and legal and political analysis for hypothetical examples/hypothetical situations - also under time pressure.

Develop WTO Member’s positions on various legal and policy issues.

Develop positions for and participate in simulated WTO negotiations, draft negotiating proposals, understand and formulate negotiation positions both written and oral performances –also under time pressure.

Evaluate

Identify and find legal research material and make decisions about which material is relevant - this also concerns policy and negotiation material.

Give constructive peer-feedback and evaluate written assignments, meetings and negotiations.


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Literature
The students will be given the first 150 pages for the pre-week. After this, the remaining app. 300-400 pages will be identified and found by themselves in the groups they work in. The professors will assist the students by suggesting literature if the students seem stuck and unable to move forward unassisted. Moreover, the KUBIS library project will run and the students will also get assisted by the librarians.




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The course will develop all competences for the KA legal education, but in particular:
- Legal research of international sources
- Specialized legal knowledge of a legal discipline
- Discuss legal issues in a larger international context
- Include results from other disciplines in the analysis of legal issues.
- Make qualified legal decisions and critically reflect over cases.
- Advise on legal issues, whilst considering political, economic and societal concerns.
- Independently plan, control and manage complex work processes, hereunder formulating solutions under time pressure
- Communicate in the appropriate diplomatic and legal English appropriate in the WTO setting.
BA degree in law (or social sciences with prior experience in legal analysis), and a good command of English
The teaching style will be problem-based online teaching where problems are solved in groups. The innovative part of this course is that the students act as WTO Members solving both on-going daily situations as well as a larger negotiation in the last week.

The course is online-based. Thus, there are no requirements to physical presence, however, parts of the course will require active online participation and online presence.
Workload are expected to be 50 hours weekly. The course will be based on case-based participatory-learning principles, focusing on student-driven discussions, presentations and –activism.

Hardware requirements: PC or Mac (we do not recommend tablet/smartphone), headset with microphone, webcam and a DSL-connection with at least 8 Mbps download/512Kbps upload(we do not recommend mobile-internet).


All of the above may be subject to change without notice.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 10
  • Project work
  • 40
  • Total
  • 50
Credit
10 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written examination, 1 døgn
Skriftlig uden tilsyn (hjemmeopgave), 1 døgn
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Exam period
Registration for exam: Automatically Exam: 11th - 12th of August 2014 Publication of grades: 22nd of August 2014
Re-exam
Registration: Automatically
Make-up exam: 28th - 29th of August 2014
Publication of grades: 26th of September 2014
Criteria for exam assesment
Grades are given on the following basis: 30 % based on participation during the 3 weeks (i.e. the oral performance and the written assignments during the course), and 70 % weight for the written exam. The written exam will consist of 2 questions (with a few sub-questions) relating the exercises and teaching activities, such as a legal question combined with a policy and negotiation sub-question and/or a question regarding how to advise a minister on an issue consisting of both legal analysis, policy advise and advise on an negotiation position.


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