units

LAW7326

Faculty of Law

18 September 2017 27 December 2024
Monash University

Postgraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2012 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

print version

6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

LevelPostgraduate
FacultyFaculty of Law
OfferedCity (Melbourne) Trimester 1 2012 (Day)

Notes

For postgraduate Law discontinuation dates, please see http://www.law.monash.edu.au/current-students/postgraduate/pg-disc-dates.html

Synopsis

This unit will examine:

  • the main features of WTO law;
  • the WTO in its historical and legal context;
  • the WTO's institutional structure and decision making and negotiating processes;
  • a number of the key WTO agreements in more detail; and
  • the rules governing trade in goods and services in the WTO, in particular the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and the General
Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), including national treatment, MFN treatment, tariff schedules, market access and key exceptions to the national treatment principle such as public morals, health and environment.

Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students should:

  1. be familiar with the history of the GATT and WTO and ongoing negotiations
  2. 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
  3. understand the tensions that may arise between WTO objectives and other objectives in national or international law, and how these tensions may be resolved
  4. be able to interpret and apply certain key WTO agreements, including advocating a particular position in a given hypothetical, potential or past case
  5. be familiar with major WTO dispute settlement decisions regarding these WTO agreements, and be able to assess these decisions critically.

Assessment

Take-home examination (3,000 words): 40%
Research assignment (4,500 words): 60%.

Chief examiner(s)

Professor Jeff Waincymer

Contact hours

24 contact hours per semester (either intensive, semi-intensive or semester long, depending on the Faculty resources, timetabling and requirements)