INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT LAW - 2020/1
Module code: LAW3133
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in a departure from previous academic years and previously published information, the University has had to change the delivery (and in some cases the content) of its programmes, together with certain University services and facilities for the academic year 2020/21.
These changes include the implementation of a hybrid teaching approach during 2020/21. Detailed information on all changes is available at: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/coronavirus/course-changes. This webpage sets out information relating to general University changes, and will also direct you to consider additional specific information relating to your chosen programme.
Prior to registering online, you must read this general information and all relevant additional programme specific information. By completing online registration, you acknowledge that you have read such content, and accept all such changes.
Module Overview
This module explores the role of international economic law in the contemporary global economy. It provides an overview of the legal foundations of the global economy and the regulatory frameworks governing international trade, investment and financial relations. The module situates international economic law within a broader context of economic, political and social globalisation and examines how international economic law interacts with other national, international and transnational, legal and non-legal processes.
The emphasis of the module is placed upon how international economic law regulates cross-border trade, investment and financial transactions carried out by international economic actors (including states, multinational corporations and other non-state actors), inasmuch as operations of the main global economic institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Module provider
School of Law
Module Leader
YIN Susan (Schl of Law)
Number of Credits: 15
ECTS Credits: 7.5
Framework: FHEQ Level 6
JACs code: M200
Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A
Module Availability
Semester 2
Prerequisites / Co-requisites
None.
Module content
Indicative content includes:
Part I: International Trade Law
- The Evolution of the GATT/WTO Regime
- The WTO Dispute Settlement System
- Basic Principles of International Trade Law: MFN and National Treatment
- Trade Liberalisation and other competing social values: environment, labor rights etc.
- Preferential Trade Agreements (I)
- Preferential Trade Agreements (II)
- Fair Trade: antidumping and countervailing measures
- Reform of the World Trade Organization
Part II: International Investment Law
9. The Legal Framework of International Investment Law
10. Settling Investment Disputes: The Investor- State Arbitration System (I)
11. Settling Investment Disputes: The Investor- State Arbitration System (II)
Assessment pattern
| Assessment type | Unit of assessment | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | 3000 word Coursework | 100 |
Alternative Assessment
n/a
Assessment Strategy
The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of topics covered in the lectures and tutorials and their ability to analyse critically both the relevant case law and complex theoretical ideas and policy considerations. Assessment goes beyond the mere repetition of the widely accepted ideas of others and encourages critical engagement with the questions which provoked those ideas.
Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:
Coursework
3000 words
One question out of a choice of two.
Formative assessment
Formative assessment takes the same form as the summative assessment (1500 words).
Feedback
Students will receive feedback on their performance, including oral feedback in lectures, tutorials, general class discussions; formal written feedback on the summative assessment; as well as individual, informal feedback from time to time as required.
Module aims
- To be able to consider the remedies allowed through the constitution
- This module aims to introduce to students basic legal principles and rules governing international trade, investment and finance and allow them to engage critically with these topics. The module also seeks to allow students to develop a sophisticated understanding of why and how international economic law works in an ever-changing global economic landscape. More specifically:
- Understand the often competing policy considerations which inform the international legal framework governing international economic transactions;
- Understand and apply the principles and rules in the areas covered in this module;
- Explain and evaluate the current law in light of its stated and other potential objectives
Learning outcomes
| Attributes Developed | ||
|---|---|---|
| 001 | Demonstrate a sophisticated knowledge and a deep understanding of both the principles and the essential rules governing international trade and investment (C, K T & P). They should also be able to apply the knowledge and skills acquired from the course to a range of real and hypothetical legal problems | CKPT |
| 002 | Develop a critical awareness of the interaction between international political economy and international economic law, be able to explain critically how international political economy has helped shape the development of international economic legal norms by international/national courts, tribunals and other instituions | CKT |
| 003 | Identify legal issues arising from the facts given in the tutorial questions, and to conduct an analysis of them by selecting the relevant legal principles and applying them to resolve the problems set | CKPT |
Attributes Developed
C - Cognitive/analytical
K - Subject knowledge
T - Transferable skills
P - Professional/Practical skills
Overall student workload
Independent Study Hours: 123
Lecture Hours: 22
Tutorial Hours: 5
Methods of Teaching / Learning
The learning and teaching strategy is designed to: engage students directly with complex international economic legal principles and rules and the underpinning theoretical and policy considerations. This involves both a close examination of the substantive legal rules and relates them to a broader context of how international economic law regulates global economic activities.
Lectures will focus on a clear understanding of the key concepts and the leading case law exemplifying these concepts. The current law will be presented in its broader historical, political and economic context so that students will acquire a sophisticated understanding of not only what the current law is, but also the driving forces helping shape the current law.
Tutorials will focus on developing the students’ detailed understanding of the law as it currently stands and applying the law to real and hypothetical legal problems.
The learning and teaching methods include:
Lectures (2 hours per week x 11 weeks);
Tutorials (1 hour per week x 5 weeks)
The objective of both categories of contact is to allow students to develop and enhance their knowledge of the subject and its practical application, thereby achieving the learning outcomes listed above.
Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.
Reading list
Reading list for INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT LAW : http://aspire.surrey.ac.uk/modules/law3133
Other information
None.
Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.