The course introduces the international trade law embodied predominantly in the World Trade Organization (WTO). It will elaborate on the substantive law as well as on dispute resolution mechanisms and compare them to regional trade agreements (e.g. NAFTA or the EU). It will offer a deeper understanding of the recent political conflicts with regard to protectionism as proposed by the USA. Further, the course will focus on recent legal disputes by way of case studies: May the US restrict the import of shrimp being caught by killing the endangered species of sea turtles? May Australia require that all cigarettes are sold in plain, unbranded packages? May the EU prohibit the import of Canadian seal fur due to inhumane killing of seals? May the US prohibit online gambling to the detriment of Antiguan online gambling providers?

Methodically, the course builds a systematic approach to the legal instruments as well as on the case law method.