Students

LAWS8089 – International Trade Law

2024 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Dalma Demeter
Contact via iLearn
see iLearn
Lecturer
Shawkat Alam
Contact via iLearn
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to LLM or MIntTrdeComLaw or (Admission to JD and LAWS600 or LAWS8001)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The unit introduces students to the principal areas of international trade law and policy, and in particular examines the legal regime governing the international exchange of goods, services, and intellectual property under the WTO. Topics include the WTO dispute settlement system; rules on non-discrimination; rules on market access; rules on unfair trade; preferential trade agreements.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Critically appraise the scope of various multilateral trade agreements and other legal principles embedded in international trade.
  • ULO2: Analyse how international trade law impacts on national trading policy and practice, and confronts controversial and pressing issues of trade and finance in the contemporary era of economic globalisation.
  • ULO3: Evaluate the way economic, political and ethical values shape the development of international regulation and relevant standards.
  • ULO4: Apply multilateral trade agreements, case law, and soft law to resolve legal problems in international trade law.

General Assessment Information

All written assessments submitted electronically must be submitted through the link provided in iLearn. This unit will utilise Turnitin plagiarism detection software. Students should carefully check that they submit the correct file for an assessment, as re-submissions will not be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file in error.

The design, moderation and feedback of all assessments is in accordance with the Macquarie University Assessment Procedure (link provided under ‘Policies and Procedures’ below).

Late Submission Policy

A maximum penalty of five (5) percentage points of the total possible marks will be applied per day to late submissions, for up to a maximum of seven calendar days. Tasks that have not been submitted within the maximum number of additional late days will receive a mark of zero. This provision does not apply to online exams or other assessment with a time limit of less than 24 hours.

Penalties for late submission will be applied consistently and equitably to all students enrolled in the unit. Where short-term, serious and unavoidable circumstances have affected their ability to submit an assessment task, a student must submit a formal application for Special Consideration as per the Special Consideration Policy. Students should not request an informal arrangement from their tutor, lecturer or Unit Convenor.

Where an application for Special Consideration is approved, and the outcome is an extension to the due date of a task, submissions that are received after the new due date will be subject to late penalties that are calculated from the new due date. This only applies where the outcome is an extension to the due date – see the Special Consideration Policy for a schedule of all possible outcomes.

Special Consideration

Students should submit applications for Special Consideration electronically via ask.mq.edu.au, along with the supporting documentation. Before submitting their applications, students should refer to the Special Consideration Policy (link provided under ‘Policies and Procedures’ below).

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Class Participation 20% No Ongoing
Take home exam 30% No 30/09/2024 10am-1pm
Research Essay 50% No 9/11/2024, 11:55pm

Class Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 20%

 

Active Class participation will require students to read and understand various issues scheduled for discussions on a regular basis. Students are also required to participate in discussions that extend beyond these set topics and readings through their own evaluation of the issues raised.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically appraise the scope of various multilateral trade agreements and other legal principles embedded in international trade.
  • Analyse how international trade law impacts on national trading policy and practice, and confronts controversial and pressing issues of trade and finance in the contemporary era of economic globalisation.
  • Evaluate the way economic, political and ethical values shape the development of international regulation and relevant standards.
  • Apply multilateral trade agreements, case law, and soft law to resolve legal problems in international trade law.

Take home exam

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 3 hours
Due: 30/09/2024 10am-1pm
Weighting: 30%

 

The take-home exam will include multiple-choice questions, short answer theoretical questions, and/or problem questions on a range of topics covered in this unit.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically appraise the scope of various multilateral trade agreements and other legal principles embedded in international trade.
  • Analyse how international trade law impacts on national trading policy and practice, and confronts controversial and pressing issues of trade and finance in the contemporary era of economic globalisation.
  • Evaluate the way economic, political and ethical values shape the development of international regulation and relevant standards.
  • Apply multilateral trade agreements, case law, and soft law to resolve legal problems in international trade law.

Research Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 27 hours
Due: 9/11/2024, 11:55pm
Weighting: 50%

 

Students will be required to write a research essay focusing on aspects of the unit content.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically appraise the scope of various multilateral trade agreements and other legal principles embedded in international trade.
  • Analyse how international trade law impacts on national trading policy and practice, and confronts controversial and pressing issues of trade and finance in the contemporary era of economic globalisation.
  • Evaluate the way economic, political and ethical values shape the development of international regulation and relevant standards.
  • Apply multilateral trade agreements, case law, and soft law to resolve legal problems in international trade law.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Delivery

Lectures: one weekly pre-recorded lecture, avalilable in echo360 on iLearn. 

Tutorials: one weekly in person/online tutorial, according to details available in the academic timetable and iLearn. 

This unit is worth 10 credit points, which equates to 150 hours of work. Therefore, students should expect to commit an average of 10 hours per week to this unit, including all scheduled and unscheduled activities and preparing and executing the assessment tasks.

Resources

The required textbook is:

Peter van den Bossche and Werner Zdouc, The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization - Text, Cases and Materials (5th edn, 2022, Cambridge University Press).

Students can purchase these textbooks online from online resellers such as Booktopia, Amazon and Zookal. 

Additional readings will be accessible through iLearn.

Students require access to a computer, internet with decent speed and a secure/reliable server. The iLearn page contains all Unit requirements and a weekly schedule for teaching, readings and tutorials. Information about all assessment tasks is also available on iLearn.

Unit Schedule

Week 1 International trade law and the World Trade Organisation
Week 2 The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the Most Favoured Nation and National Ttreatment Principles
Week 3 The General Agreement on Trade in Services
Week 4 The WTO Dispute Settlement System
Week 5 Tariff barriers to trade
Week 6 Non-tariff barriers to trade
Week 7 Exceptions to non-discriminatin principles in trade
Week 8 Dumping and subsidies
Week 9 Technical barriers to trade
Week 10 Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Week 11 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
Week 12 Regional and Bilateral Trade Agreements

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
24/07/2024 Changed the due date of the last assessment, due to the timing of the last tutorial for the external cohort. The change has been made in the faculty assessment calendar.

Unit information based on version 2024.01 of the Handbook