2nd Semester

This course focuses on the most developed aspect of EU external relations law and policy, namely trade and international economics.  The objective of the course is to enable students to develop and deepen their knowledge of the substantive law of the European Union by providing a sound introduction to this area of considerable topical importance.  In particular, its exploration of the impact of the World Trade Organisation on EU external trade law and policy will encourage the development of a critical appreciation of the evolutionary nature of EU law and its relationship to international economic law.

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The aim of the module will be to equip students with an overview of the multifaceted nature of this aspect of EU law, together with an understanding of how its rules operate.  It begins with an examination of the legal powers of the EU in the field of external trade and the legal framework in which it operates.  It then goes on to consider external trade measures in some detail, with particular focus on the EU’s development policy and trade, and the interrelationship between EU law and WTO law.  The policy implications of the emergence of the European Union as a major actor in international economic relations will also be consered in some detail.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

• Identify the scope of the Common Commercial Policy and the impact of the WTO thereon

   

• Identify the range of legal instruments available to implement external trade policy and the legal bases for their adoption

   

• Understand the relationship between EU external trade policy and other areas of EU external relations policy

   

• Demonstrate a sound understanding of the rules and principles pertaining to the Common Agricultural Policy and Development Policy and assess their impact on international trade

   

• Appreciate the dynamic role of the European Court of Justice in all sectors studies and its relationship to developments within the World Trade Organisation Dispute Settlement System

   

• Solve problems requiring knowledge and application of EU law to factual situations

   

This course will be devoted to an in-depth study of the substantive rules with some consideration of the policy issues which underpin those rules.

Common Commercial Policy

·             EU Customs Union and customs law

·             Autonomous Policy and anti-dumping

·             Conventional Policy and bilateral and multilateral agreements

·             Issues of competence and the role of the judiciary

·             The WTO and Dispute Settlement procedures

Development Policy

·             General principles

·             Cotonou and Economic Partnership Agreements

·             The System of Generalised Preferences

·             The impact of the WTO and the Doha Round

Common Agricultural Policy

·             General principles

·             Common organisations

·             Structural policy and recent reform

·             International aspects: WTO and Doha

International Standards

·             WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to trade

·             Codex Alimentarius

·             Implications for EU harmonisation

8 x 3-hour seminars.  The seminars will be interactive and students will be expected to come prepared for the seminar and engage actively in discussions

Essential reading

Eeckhout, P. External Relations of the EU: Legal and Constitutional Foundations (OUP, 2004)

Background reading

McGoldrick International Relations Law of the EU (Longman, 1997)

McMahon, M. Law of the Common Agricultural Policy (Pearson, 2000)

Lasok, K. P. E. The Law and Institutions of the European Union (7^th Edition, Sweet & Maxwell, 2001)

Hartley, T. European Union Law in a Global Context ( Cambridge , University Press, 2004)

Mathijsen, P. A Guide to EU Law (8^th Edition, Sweet & Maxwell, 2004)

Kapteyn & Ver Loren van Themaat Introduction to the Law of the European Communities (3^rd Edition, Kluwer, 1998)

Cardwell, M. European Model of Agriculture (OUP, 2004)

Eeckhout, P. The European Internal Market and International Trade: A Legal Analysis (OUP, 1994)

MacCleod, Hendry & Hyett The External Relations of the European Communities (OUP, 1996)

Petersmann, E. The GATT/WTO Dispute Settlement System (Kluwer, 1997)

Carmody, C. Remedies and the WTO Agreement (OUP, 2004)

Matshushita, M. The WTO: Law, Practice, Policy (OUP, 2004)

Emiliou & O’Keeffe The European Union and World Trade Law (John Wiley & Sons, 1996)

Weiler, J. (Ed) The EU, the WTO and the NAFTA: Towards a Common Law of International Trade (OUP, 2001)

Fletcher & Mistelis (Eds) Foundations and Perspectives of International Trade Law (Sweet & Maxwell, 2001)

Snyder, F. International Trade and Customs Law of the EU (Butterworths, 1998)

El-Agraa, A. The European Union: Economics and Politics (6^th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2004)

Verhoosel, R. National Treatment and WTO Dispute Settlement (Kluwer, 2002)

Snyder, J. (Ed) Regional and Global Regulation of International Trade (Kluwer, 2002)

Dashwood & Hillion (Eds) The General Law of EC External Relations (Sweet & Maxwell, 2000)

De Burca & Scott (Eds) The EU and the WTO: Legal and Constitutional Issue (Hart Publishing, 2001)

Wiers, J. Trade and Environment in the EC and WTO (Europa Law Publishing, 2002)

Kronenberger, T. The EU and the International Legal Order: Discord or Harmony? (TMC, Asser Press, 2001)

Cass, D. The Constitutionalisation of the WTO (OUP, 2005)

Van den Bossche, P. The Law and Policy of the WTO ( Cambridge University Press, 2005)

Karkeniemi, M. (Ed) International Law Aspects of the EU (1998)

Journals

Common Market Law Review

European Law Review

European Public Law

European Law Journal

Modern Law Review

Journal of Common Market Studies

Law Quarterly Review

European Journal of International Law

Journal of World Trade