Home Master Programme (MILE) Courses

I / 01 - History and Introduction to the World Trading System

21 – 24 September 2009 Thomas Cottier, World Trade Institute Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer, University of Basel, World Trade Institute This introductory courses aims to provide an overview of WTO law and policy to those with no previous knowledge of the area. Set against the context of historical developments in trade regulation, the course offers an introduction to the institutional rules of the WTO as well as a preliminary survey of the principles and basic rules of the international trading system to prepare students for further studies in the area. Of interest to persons new to the field. Lecturers: Prof. Thomas Cottier, Managing Director of the World Trade Institute, is Professor of European and International Economic Law at the University of Bern and Director of the Institute of European and International Economic Law. He directs the national research programme on trade law and policy (NCCR International Trade Regulation: From Fragmentation to Coherence) located at the WTI. He is an associate editor of several journals. He was a visiting professor at the Graduate Institute, Geneva, and also currently teaches at the Europa Institut Saarbrücken, Germany, and at Wuhan University, China. He was a member of the Swiss National Research Council from 1997-2004 and served on the board of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) Rome during the same period. He served the Baker & McKenzie law firm as Of Counsel from 1998 to 2005. Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer is a SNF professor of international law at the University of Basel and a senior research fellow at the WTI. A native of the USA, Ms. Nadakavukaren Schefer received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. After moving to Switzerland, she received both her Doctorate in Law and her Habilitation from the University of Bern. Currently she is researching the topic of positive duties of states in international law and international economic law. Having written and co-authored on a range of WTO topics, Ms. Nadakavukaren Schefer's main area of interest is the relationship between general international law and WTO law. Cost: CHF 1’500 Registration date: 14 September 2009