One Credit Certificate Course on International Trade in Services: Legal Framework, Negotiations, & Services Trade Policies by Centre for International Trade Law, National Law University Odisha! Register Now!

ABOUT NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY ODISHA

The National Law University Odisha (NLUO) has made a place for itself in the field of legal education in a very short time. It is ranked among the top 10 under the ‘Top 10 Law Colleges’ category in India Today’s Best Colleges Ranking of 2022, being at no. 9. This category is for the highest-scoring colleges among those set up in or after 2000. NIRF Ranking for 2022 ranked the National Law University Odisha at the twenty-fifth rank amongst all categories of law colleges of the country and tenth among NLUs. The university’s faculty research output has always been of a very high standard. Faculty publications in several top-tier international publications bespeak their subject expertise and scholarship.

ABOUT NLUO CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW (CITL)

The Centre for International Trade Law is a research center of the National Law University, Odisha, established in 2015. The Centre is geared primarily towards research. The Centre strives to produce high-quality and cutting-edge research in the field of International Trade Law and International Investment Law. The Centre regularly publishes books on issues related to the WTO and international trade. It is in the process of publishing an edited version of all the WTO Appellate Body decisions. Two volumes have already been published. This work is unique and a valuable addition to the literature on WTO jurisprudence.

ABOUT COURSE

This Course will give students an insight into the growing relevance of the services sector, particularly the digital and online delivery – intensified even further by the COVID pandemic and the increasing importance of services trade policies for economic development and diversification, trade integration and even inclusiveness. The impact of the domestic regulatory environment in the services sector on market competition, privatisation and liberalisation and efficient delivery to the consumers will be highlighted. It will elaborate on the international legal framework for services trade and the resultant consequences for the liberalisation of services sectors and the development of domestic regulatory frameworks, including substantially independent regulators. In this context, Services trade negotiation dynamics in both the WTO and regional/bilateral trade agreements will be analysed and the evolution and current status of such negotiations will be studied. Students will understand how to read, prepare and interpret service schedules of countries as well as the nascent jurisprudence on service trade-related matters that has developed thus far in the WTO. The current raging and sometimes controversial debates on the rise of E-Commerce will be touched upon.

Course Teacher: Mr. Sumanta Chaudhuri – Former Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India. Currently Principal Adviser, International Trade Policy in CII.

Course Objectives

To familiarise students with the rapidly evolving global Services Trade Architecture and Legal Framework
To deepen the understanding of the main provisions of the General Agreement on Trade in Services and their implementation
To provide a better comprehension of the complexities and divergent issues in services trade negotiations

Course Outcome

Be sufficiently informed about the nature of the General Agreement on Trade in Services under the WTO
Be able to analyse the impact of services trade policies for businesses, consumers, and the role of governments
Develop skill sets to advise the various stakeholders on strategic decisions to take advantage of the opportunities created or suitable responses to the challenges that arise

Duration