This course addresses the regulation of international trade law in the wider context of general public international law. It focuses in particular on the multilateral trade agreements established under the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the successor of the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Against the backdrop of the dynamics underlying economic integration at the global level, the course also includes a closer look at the increasing practice of Member states all around the world to negotiate regional trade agreements (RTAs), such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the European Union (EU), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or the Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA).

CILO-1: Students will be able to describe the World Trade Organization (WTO), including its history, structure, covered agreements, and role in international economic law. CILO-2: Students will be able to explain the dynamisms inherent in the legal principles governing international trade liberalization and global economic integration. CILO-3: Students will be able to apply the provisions enshrined in the World Trade Organization (WTO) covered agreements in light of the decisions rendered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement system. CILO-4: Students will be able to compare the principal objectives of global trade regulation with the wider challenges of global governance as reflected in the ‘trade linkage debate’, and to formulate the findings as creative and critical ideas relating to the future of global trade regulation.