The Edinburgh Law School

INTERNATIONAL LAW OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Course Organiser: Dr James Harrison

INTERNATIONAL LAW OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY AND THE

COURSE INFORMATION
Aims and objectives of the course:
The course is designed to develop skills of legal research, writing and analysis, by means of the
study of various selected topics of international law in relation to the regulation of the global
economy and the environment. Students on the course will also consider the ways in which
modern international law has evolved, and is continuing to evolve, to deal more effectively with
problems in these areas.
In particular, students will develop:
An understanding of the objectives of international protection of the environment and
international regulation of the global economy;
An understanding of the law-making processes and sources of law and an ability to
use them in a competent manner;
Knowledge of selected aspects of international environmental law and international
economic law and an ability to evaluate and apply them;
An understanding of the mechanisms and purposes international dispute settlement
and compliance procedures for economic and environment disputes.
Course administration:
The course organiser is:
Dr James Harrison
Room 371, Old College
Telephone: 0131 6502040
E-mail: [email protected]
Concerns relating to academic aspects of the course should be addressed to the course organiser.
The teachers:
The teachers of the course are the following:
Dr James Harrison
Dr Gracia Marin-Duran
Dr Elisa Morgera

Provisional course outline:

Introduction (23/09/11)
The International Legal Framework for Investment Protection (30/09/11)
Investment Dispute Settlement (07/10/11)
An Introduction to the WTO (14/10/11)
WTO Dispute Settlement System (21/10/11)

READING WEEK (w/b 24/10/11)

Enforcement of WTO Rules (04/11/11)

Semester 2
READING WEEK (w/b 16/01/12)
12.
13.
14.
15.

Biodiversity and Nature Conservation (27/01/12)

INNOVATIVE LEARNING WEEK (w/b 20/02/12)

Principle of Non-Discrimination (02/03/12)

Reading assignments:
There is no single prescribed book for the course. Reading assignments will be distributed, in
general, on a weekly basis, with the reading lists on the course web-site. When assignments are
from books, the books in question will be placed on reserve in the Library, from which they may
be borrowed subject to the usual Library rules. Please contact the Course Organiser as soon
as possible if there is any problem getting access to any of the assigned readings.
When assignments are from journal articles, students will be expected to locate the journal in
question on the open shelves of the Library or via electronic databases available through the
Library catalogue. It is imperative that students cooperate by promptly replacing relevant
books and journals on the shelves whenever they are not actively using them.
Students should be aware that books, journals and photocopied materials in which reading
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assignments are made may be used at the same time for other courses and that, as a
consequence, there may be heavy demand for these materials. It is the responsibility of the
students to make sure that they complete each week's reading assignment on time.
Class meetings:
Class meetings will take place on Friday from 09:00-10:50 in the Lorimer Room. Students are
expected to arrive promptly for classes. Attendance is compulsory and a register of attendance
will be taken. If you are unable to attend a seminar for whatever reason, please contact the
course organiser (preferably by email) in advance or, in case of difficulty, immediately
thereafter. Absence through illness may be self-certified for a period of up to seven days but
a medical certificate, sent to the appropriate Director of Studies, is required thereafter.
Failure to attend any seminar without good reason or erratic attendance will be reported to your
Director of Studies and may, in extreme circumstances, lead to disciplinary action.
Classroom work:
Classes will be conducted in seminar style. All students are expected to prepare fully for the
class and to participate actively in class discussions. Any lack of class preparation by the
students will have the inevitable effect of reducing the quality and depth of the classroom
coverage of the topic or topics affected. Students remain responsible for all assigned work
notwithstanding that some topics may not be discussed in depth.
Prior knowledge of international law:
The Ordinary course in International Law is not a prerequisite for admission to this course. At
the same time, this course is not designed to be either an elementary course or a course which
covers the whole field of international law. Consequently, students who have not previously
taken a course in international law will probably need to undertake some independent work on
their own initiative prior to the commencement of the course. Books which are suitable for this
purpose include:
Malcolm Shaw, International Law (6th edn, Cambridge University Press, 2008)
Rebecca Wallace and Olga Martin-Ortega, International Law (6th edn, Sweet & Maxwell, 2009)
Martin Dixon, International Law (6th edn, Oxford University Press, 2007)
Vaughan Lowe, International Law (Oxford University Press, 2007)
These books are all on permanent reserve in the Law Library.
Class representatives:
In the early weeks of the year, one or more class representatives must be selected from amongst
the students. Volunteers are actively sought for this position. Students should feel free to
communicate any views or suggestions about the conducting of the course to the class
representative(s). Such views may, alternatively, be conveyed directly to the course organiser.
Two regular meetings with the class representatives will be scheduled during the year, together
with additional meetings if required.
Assessment:
Performance is assessed through a combination of two elements: an essay and a written
examination. Marking is done anonymously and is overseen by an external examiner (Prof. D.
French, of the University of Sheffield).
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Essay
The essay counts for one third of the final course mark. Essay topics will be distributed in week 1
of semester 1. Essays must be submitted on or before 2pm on Monday 9 th January 2012.
Further instructions on submission procedures will be given at a later date.
Essays must be no more than 15 pages long including references. Footnotes should be used in
preference to endnotes where possible. The proper use of footnotes is for citation or
referencing. They are not to be used to make substantive points. Such substantive points
should appear in the body of the text. Bibliographies and lists of authorities or other
sources are not included in the page limit.
An essay submitted as part of the required course work is to be in the following format:
Paper:
A4 size, Portrait form
Font:
Times new Roman
Font size:
12
Margins:
All 1 inch (2.54 cm)
Line spacing:
1.5
Footnotes/endnotes font size:
10
Page numbering: All page numbers should be numbered in the following style: Page x of
x where the first x represents the current page number, and the second x the total number
of pages. Such numbering should appear either at the very top or very bottom of each
page.
It is your responsibility to check that the above settings have been used when formatting your
work, as these settings may not be the default settings for your computer.
Plagiarism the action of including, without adequate acknowledgement, the work of another
person as if it were ones own is a form of cheating. Essays which contain plagiarised
material will be severely penalised, possibly resulting in a mark of zero, and besides may be
treated as a disciplinary offence within the University.
The Universitys general guidance for students about plagiarism, and its regulations regarding
it, can be found on the University website:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academicservices/students/undergraduate/discipline/plagiarism
The penalty for work submitted late shall be FIVE PERCENTAGE POINTS for work
submitted after the prescribed deadline but before 5 pm on the next day, with a further 5% for
EACH FURTHER DAY OR PART THEREOF LATE. After 5 pm on the fifth day following
the day of the deadline, A MARK OF 0% WILL BE RECORDED. For example, assuming a
deadline of Thursday at 4 pm, work handed in before Friday at 5 pm, and initially assessed at
60% will receive a mark of 55%. The fifth day after the day of the deadline is the following
Tuesday, so work submitted after 5 pm on the following Tuesday will receive 0%. On
weekends and public holidays, the time of electronic submission is the relevant time for
penalty purposes.
Where a student is aware in advance of special circumstances which will prevent him/her
from submitting assessed work on time, he or she may request in writing an extension of the
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due date from the Director of Undergraduate Examinations (Ms Laura Macgregor). The
forms can be collected from the Teaching Office. Such an extension, and the length of any
extension granted, shall be at the discretion of the Director of Undergraduate Examinations.
Where such an extension is granted, assessed work submitted within the extended period for
submission shall not attract a penalty. Where a student fails to submit a request for an
extension to the Director of Undergraduate Examinations in advance, the student may
nonetheless inform the Director of Undergraduate Examinations in writing of any special
circumstances which prevented him or her from submitting the work on time. In such a case,
the Director of Undergraduate Examinations may at her discretion reduce any penalty which
has been applied for late submission in whole or in part. In no circumstances shall any special
circumstances affecting late submission of assessed work be considered after marks have
been finalised by the Board of Examiners. Students should take note that course organisers do
not have authority to grant extensions to deadlines for submitted work and that requests for
an extension should not be submitted to course organisers.
You will receive feedback on your essay during week 6 of the second semester. A notice will
be posted on the course website when the feedback is available.
Examination
The second element of assessment is an unseen written examination, of three hours duration,
counting for two thirds of the course mark.
Formative assignment:
You will also have the opportunity in the course to complete a formative assignment which
will not count towards your final grade but will allow you to practice your legal writing and
to gain feedback on your progress on the course. Further details will follow at the start of the
course.
Marking criteria:
Essays and exams will be marked according to the School of Law Marking Criteria:
A1 (90-100%)
Work in this category will be outstanding. This will be reflected in the depth of knowledge
and understanding of the primary (where relevant) and secondary sources and by the high
degree of creativity, critical insight and analytical rigour. It must be remembered that whilst
the work should be exemplary one is dealing with a piece of undergraduate work and, for
instance, it would not be reasonable to judge it by whether it was publishable.
A2 (80-89%)
A candidate should show a robust knowledge and critical understanding of the primary
sources (where relevant) and a thorough and critical understanding of the secondary sources.
There should be considerable evidence of imagination, creativity, critical insight and
analytical rigour.
A3 (70-79%)
A candidate should show substantial knowledge and critical understanding of the primary
sources (where relevant) and a thorough and critical understanding of the secondary sources.
There should be some evidence of imagination, creativity, critical insight and analytical
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rigour.
B (60-69%)
A candidate should show knowledge and understanding of the subject in general, but not
enough to warrant a mark in one of the A grades. Work falling in this band will often exhibit a
greater reliance on secondary literature rather than primary sources (where relevant). There
should be evidence of imagination, creativity, critical insight and analytical rigour.
C (50-59%)
A candidate should show some knowledge and understanding of the subject in general, but
not enough to warrant a mark in the B grade. Work falling in this band will often exhibit a
heavy reliance on secondary literature rather than primary sources (where relevant). There
should be limited evidence of imagination, creativity, critical insight and analytical rigour.
D (40-49%)
A candidate should show limited knowledge and understanding of the subject in general, but
not enough to warrant a mark in the C grade. Work falling in this band will often exhibit a
heavy reliance on secondary literature rather than primary sources (where relevant) and it
will be marred by deficiencies and inaccuracies. Inaccurate reproductions and mistaken
understandings of materials, doctrines etc. are hallmarks of work in this category. Evidence of
imagination, creativity, critical insight and analytical rigour is not to be expected in this
grade.
E H (0-39%)
Work in this band will exhibit inadequate knowledge and understanding of the subject in
general. Numerical marks are awarded within the range 39 0 at the discretion of the
examiner.
Special needs:
Students with special needs are encouraged to bring this information to the attention (in
confidence) of the Course Organiser.

Large print versions of this handout are available from