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Institute of International Economic Law
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IIEL Research Projects The Institute of International Economic Law (IIEL) emphasizes research into fundamental systemic problems related to International Economic Law, defined broadly to include almost any subject involving law as it relates to cross-border economic activity. IIEL research projects aim to examine some of the more complex issues facing the World Trade Organization, such as the WTO’s continuing review of the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding; the perplexing policy issue of the relation between international economic law and human rights; the challenges posed by China's WTO accession; and the relationship between trade and environmental protection. These IIEL research projects potentially may influence actual events and provide important critiques of policies, negotiations, or court and tribunal cases. Some current and past IIEL projects are described below. GATT and WTO History Project (and Oral History of the World Trading System) Today as never before, the global trading system is a significant element of international affairs. As the future of the trading system is debated in the World Trade Organization (WTO), its past becomes increasingly instructive as a guide to its underlying policies and principles. Many former officials of national governments, and staff of the WTO and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), as well as staff of other international and regional organizations, have first-hand knowledge of this history and were intimately involved in the evolution of the GATT and WTO throughout the post-World War II period. Their knowledge and experiences are of enormous value, both to researchers tracing the evolution of international trade regimes, and to policy makers formulating future trade policy. Therefore, while these sources are still available, it is important to create a record of the critical behind-the-scenes developments that led to the creation of the current multilateral trading system. To this end, the IIEL is engaged in a multi-disciplinary history project to record and document the evolution of the international trade system, with a focus on the post World War II period including GATT and the WTO. The objective of this project is to collect oral history and written materials from a wide range of former senior government and secretariat officials who have been intimately involved at the highest level in the world trading system. Many of these persons have participated in the GATT/WTO negotiations throughout the post-World War II period. The World Trade Institute (WTI) of the Universities of Berne, Neuchatel and Fribourg, Switzerland, directed by Prof. Thomas Cottier, is collaborating with the IIEL in this project, and the goal is to create an archive of primary source materials that will be housed initially in the John Wolff International and Comparative Law Library at Georgetown University Law Center. WTO Dispute Settlement Review Project An ongoing research project is underway to study reforms proposed for the WTO Dispute Settlement (DS) process. This project involves analytical and statistical work concerning the WTO DS process as well as encouraging scholarly writing on the subject. Professor John H. Jackson and Professor William Davey (Raymond Guy Jones Chair (Retired) at the University of Illinois College of Law and the first Director of the WTO Legal Affairs Division), initiated this study in 1999. In recent years Professor Jackson, joined by Georgetown Law adjunct Professors Jane Bradley and Chris Parlin, has devoted his seminar on Law and Policy of International Economic Relations to the WTO dispute settlement procedures and how these procedures interact with diplomacy and policy making concerning international economic relations. The topics of students' research papers have covered a broad range of WTO jurisprudential and procedural issues. The IIEL also monitors developments in the Special Session of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body, and maintains a synopsis of proposals made in that forum to reform the DS process. Human Rights and International Trade The linkage between international economic law and human rights has been a perplexing policy issue for decades. A project to study the links between trade law and policy on the one hand, and international human rights law on the other hand, was initiated under the umbrella of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), with the cooperation of the IIEL and two other institutions: the Max Planck Institute at Heidelberg, Germany and the World Trade Institute at Berne, Switzerland. This project was initially directed by Professor Frederick M. Abbott of Florida State University College of Law, and later co-directed by Professor Thomas Cottier, Director of the World Trade Institute, and Professor Joost Pauwellyn of Duke University Law School. The project was also guided by an advisory group co-chaired by Professors John H. Jackson of IIEL and Jochen Frowein of the Max Planck Institute. Professor Carlos Vázquez of the Georgetown Law faculty also participated in this project.
The following publications resulted from these collaborative efforts:
Many interesting and profoundly important policy issues now engage questions about the environment and sustainable development. Clearly many of these questions transcend national borders, and thus require strategies for international coordination and cooperation. This in turn often implies the need for legal instruments and structures. Because of these trends the IIEL includes among its priority research projects attention to several different aspects of international environmental law. This research is directed by Professor Edith Brown Weiss, the Francis Cabell Brown Professor of International Law at Georgetown Law. Professor Brown Weiss is a well recognized and honored professor of public international law and of environmental law, with a special focus on international environmental law. Her own ongoing research contributes importantly to the literature and thinking about this subject (see particularly her co-edited major study of compliance by nation states with selected environmental treaties). The linkages between environmental law and international trade law have been a focus of IIEL activity since its creation. In Fall 1999, Professors Jackson, Brown Weiss, and Parlin jointly taught a Seminar on Environment and Trade Law, which considered the intersection of international environmental law and trade law. This seminar used five key trade cases (one GATT case, three WTO cases, and the then-anticipated WTO case on genetically modified organisms) as a focus for extensive discussions, which included government officials and practitioners. A book based on the Seminar Papers, entitled Reconciling Environment and Trade (Transnational Publishers, Inc.) was published in April 2001. Climate Change. A current priority of the IIEL in this area is examining the linkage between trade agreements and measures to address climate change. In 2008, the IIEL initiated a forum for discussion of climate change and trade, bringing together experts on climate change and international environmental law with experts on the WTO and other trade agreements. The Peterson Institute for International Economics is also supporting this initiative. In Spring 2010, Professors Brown Weiss and Bradley will co-teach a new course: International Environment and Trade Seminar: Climate Change. This seminar will explore the link between international environment/natural resources law and international trade law in the context of climate change. It will address issues such as cap and trade/emissions trading, forest conservation, carbon intensity standards and labeling, energy taxes, special funds, and adaptation to climate change, especially in the global South. Special attention will be given to issues of implementation and compliance. A simulated negotiation will be included. Effects of China's Membership in the WTO China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been considered one of the most important challenges facing China and the WTO in recent years. China's accession raised serious legal questions about its capacity to implement the WTO rules and policies effectively. In addition, China's membership undoubtedly has affected some of the key WTO rules and policies. Following the success of a course at Georgetown Law on WTO Law and Policy for Chinese government officials in June 2000, the ground was laid for a long-running study of the impact of China's accession to the WTO. IIEL’s goal is to examine over the next several years some of the fundamental effects of China's WTO membership on both China and on the WTO, and – in cooperation with the Law-Asia program at Georgetown Law -- to encourage scholarly writings and publications on this subject. From 2003 to 2005, Professor John H. Jackson participated in an extensive institutional review of the WTO as a member of the WTO Consultative Board, which released its report, "The Future of the WTO," on January 17, 2005. WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi appointed the Board in June 2003. It consisted of eight persons, including Professor Jackson, and was chaired by former WTO Director General Peter Sutherland. The report addresses institutional challenges of the WTO at the time of the organization's Tenth Anniversary. The IIEL has a continuing interest in a variety of research subjects, which it encourages the IIEL Fellows to examine, including:
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