Robert Howse

Courses

• Dispute Settlement and Jurisprudence in World Trade

  This course will probe the principal doctrines of international trade law through a careful reading of the most important cases of the World Trade Organization Appellate Body, and related decisions of other tribunals (NAFTA, the European Court of Justice, WTO panels of first instance, etc.). A particular focus will be those disputes that have significant legitimacy implications for the dispute settlement system, where the environment, human life and health, economic and social development and other vital public interests are at issue. Instead of treating international trade law as a “self-contained regime” the course will critically examine WTO jurisprudence in light of broader doctrinal and institutional developments, including in human rights, investor-state arbitration, international and regional regimes for standardization, and the evolving law of international responsibility. Procedural questions will also be considered, such as the transparency of proceedings and the participation of non-governmental persons through amicus curiae submissions. Close attention will be paid to methods of judicial interpretation, and especially the manner in which the Appellate Body applies the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The relevance of non-legal expertise in dispute settlement (particularly economics and science related to risk assessment and regulation) will be addressed. We will also read related secondary literature, by scholars such as Henrik Horn, Robert Hudec, Petros Mavroidis, Joost Pauwelyn, Steve Charnovitz, Jagdish Bhagwati, Dani Rodrik, Greg Schaffer, Joanne Scott, Joseph Stiglitz, Alan Sykes, Armin von Bogdandy. A number of the classes will be co-taught with distinguished guest speakers from academia, practice and the trade policy community. There is no prerequisite for this course: some previous familiarity with international trade is desirable, either through an introductory course in law, or exposure through academic work in another discipline, such as economics, political science, or international relations. Supplemental readings will be suggested for those with no previous background. Students may choose either to write a research paper on a topic agreed with the instructor or a final take-home examination.

• History and Theory of International Law Seminar

  • This seminar consists in a close reading of classic and contemporary texts that explore the central questions concerning the relationship between power and right in international politics: the justification of war and the issue of "just war", the role of law in achieving and sustaining peace and stability, the morality of empire, the meaning or possibility of "global democracy" and "global justice". We will consider writings by, for example, Thucydides, Cicero, Livy, Farabi, Grotius, Hobbes, Kant, Hegel and Max Weber; and twentieth century readings from works by Alexandre Kojeve, Carl Schmitt, Leo Strauss. Finally we will examine contemporary debates about justice and law in international relations, through a series of more contemporary writings in the philosophy of international law, including by, e.g. Habermas, Koskenniemi, and Teitel.

• International Financial Architecture Seminar

  This seminar explores our international financial architecture with a particular focus on the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The seminar will focus on first principles. What is the international financial architecture? Why do we have it? What are the IMF and World Bank designed to do? What do they actually do? Do we need them to do anything? If so, what? How do these institutions relate to other institutions and mechanisms important for international finance, such as the G-7 (collectively and individually), the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the World Trade Organization, and international securities, accounting and insurance bodies, or for that matter, domestic bankruptcy courts?

• International Investment Law and Arbitration

  Foreign investment has long been recognized as one of the pillars of the global economy, and is now the focus of significant public attention. This course will deal with both the substance of international investment law and the modern regime of international investment treaty arbitration. We will first examine the evolution of investor protection from custom to an institutionalized legal regime governed by multiple international instruments, including the ICSID and New York Conventions. We will then consider the substantive protections for foreign investors that are frequently found in bilateral investment treaties and similar instruments-including provisions on expropriation, fair and equitable treatment, full protection and security, and national treatment, as well as various exceptions or limitations on these obligations, particularly related to national security and other vital public policy interests. We will also examine the arbitration process, including jurisdictional issues, the structure of arbitration proceedings, the role of arbitrators and counsel, the relationship between contract and treaty claims, provisional measures, and enforcement of awards. Students may choose either to write a research paper on a topic agreed with the instructor or a final take-home examination.

  Hybrid Teaching Notes

  In this course, faculty will teach from the classroom to a mix of in-person and remote students at every class meeting.