General provisions

Determined on March 31, 2023 by Faculty of Law's Teaching Committee, Uppsala University, by virtue of Chapter 6 Section 14 and 15 of the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100). The course plan enters into force on July 1, 2023.

In General

The course is 15 university points (15 ECTS credits) and an optional course at advanced level in the studies for the degree of Master of Laws, according to the degree requirements adopted 16 April 2007 by the Board of the Faculty of Law of Uppsala University. The course is held in English.

Entry requirements

In general, Swedish students must have attained five passes out of the six courses given at basic level of the LL.M programme. All the obligatory phases of the course in which the student has not attained a pass must have been fulfilled.

Foreign students must at least have passed two years of studies in law. All students must have full command of oral and written English.

If special reasons exist the board of exemption may grant exemption from the acceptance requirements.

Learning outcomes

The purpose of the course is to give the students a theoretical understanding and practical legal skills to understand, critically evaluate and work with specific aspects of EU and public international law concerned with economic relations between States and between States and non-State actors, i.e., businesses.

After completion of the course, the students will have

• a sound understanding of the structure, organisation, and decision-making procedures of the WTO
• a sound general knowledge of the GATT and GATS Agreements
• a sound knowledge and some practical knowhow of the dispute settlement system of the WTO, including its system of sanctions
• a sound general knowledge of the policy implications of WTO's activities and further development of the multilateral trading system in times of geo-economic power struggle
• a sound general understanding of regional trade agreements
• a sound understanding of the core principles of international investment law and their economic and policy implications
• a general understanding and knowhow of the investor-State dispute settlement mechanism and its economic and policy implications
• a sound general understanding of the EU's legislation in the area of external economic policy in times of geo-economic power struggle

Grading criteria

The grades given are Fail (U), and the passing grades are Pass (B), Pass with credit (Ba), and Pass with distinction (AB).

For the grade "B", the student is required to achieve all the learning outcomes in a descriptive, summary, thoughtful and analytical fashion.

For the next grade "Ba", in addition to the requirements for grade "B", the student is required to demonstrate the capability of taking an analytical approach through structured, independent, and critical thinking.

For the highest grade, "AB", in addition to the requirements for grade "Ba", the student must demonstrate good analytical skills through well-structured, well-thought thoughts and critical thinking, enabling him/her to take positions based on convincing arguments and a high degree of independence.

Content

Not only multinational enterprises such as Google, Ikea, or Maersk trade and invest around the globe, but even small and medium-sized enterprises participate in cross-border economic activities daily. Solely national understandings on this development are not enough for future practitioners of law.

What you will discover in this course is the law regulating international economic relations, esp. trade and investment, and its underlying economic and policy considerations. The course examines main legal instruments in international economic law relevant to Sweden and other EU Member States, i.e., the WTO treaties, the EU Treaties' external dimension, regional trade agreements, as well as international investment (protection and facilitation) agreements. A particular focus will be placed on the question of how the previously mentioned agreements are applied (and potentially modified) in a context of an increased power struggle between the United States and China and the consequential "securitisation" of economic relations. This struggle is not only of great significance for Europe which may have to deal with supply chain disruptions and deglobalisation tendencies but also poses a challenge to global sustainable development. The course will give you a theoretical understanding and practical legal skills to understand, critically evaluate and work with specific aspects of EU and public international law concerned with economic relations between States and between States and non-state actors, i.e., businesses.

The course will include the following aspects:

• After a general introduction to the overarching principles of international economic law, we will explore the significant policy issues that arise in the development and implementation of international economic legal frameworks at present day and consider how these frameworks impact diverse economic sectors in the age of geo-economics.
• We will then turn from a macro to a more micro perspective and discuss how the geo-economic power struggle plays out with regards to the rules governing international trade, focusing on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) in the context of the WTO as well as selected regional trade agreements, such as CETA.
• In the same fashion, i.e., critically evaluating the impact of the current shifting geopolitical landscape, we will approach the major legal principles found in international investment law, such as fair and equitable treatment or expropriation, as well as investor-State dispute settlement.
• Last, the course will provide a concise overview over the EU rules regulating the block's third country trade and investment relations. This body of law, enacted autonomously by the EU, is rapidly evolving and of increasing importance. It relates to areas such as foreign investment control (i.e. investment screening), sanctions, and third country subsidies control.

Instruction

All teaching and course materials are in English. Teaching will take place in the form of introductory lectures (very few), seminars and mini-mock arbitrations/negotiating sessions. Students are thus required to actively prepare for each class and actively participate in seminars and mini-mock sessions.

Attendance at all seminars is compulsory unless exceptions are granted by the course director.

Assessment

In order to pass the course, students must fulfil all compulsory elements. A written examination, for a maximum of five hours, will be given at the end of the course. The exam is an "open book" exam. Students are allowed to bring all course materials to the exam, as well as dictionaries. For students who fail the examination a new opportunity to take the examination will be given. If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated above and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding recommendations of special pedagogical support from the University´s disability coordinator.

It is prohibited to attempt to use deceptive means to influence the outcome of an exam or other ways of evaluating student performance such as essays. This entails inter alia the following points. A student may not use non-permitted aids or materials during a written examination. In a take home examination the work submitted must be the individual work of the student. Cooperation with other students in the writing of take-home examinations is prohibited. It is also prohibited to pass off another person's work as one's own work, in other words, to engage in plagiarism. See the specific instructions given in each course in this respect. In addition to the result of the exam or other way of evaluating student performance being reduced or declared null, a student who, in the above or other ways engages in cheating will be reported to the University Disciplinary Board. The Board can issue formal warnings or disbar the student from studying at the university for a period of up to six months.

The grades given are Fail (U), and the passing grades are Pass (B), Pass with credit (BA), and Pass with distinction (AB).

Other regulations

Annexes to the Course Plan

1. The study plan for the advanced course

2. Course literature

Delegations

It is delegated to the course director to issue the study plan and the literature list. These shall be annually submitted to the Teaching Committee as part of the course report.