News from the ACWL
ACWL offers training course on WTO law
The ACWL will offer a training course on the basic principles of the WTO legal system, running from 8 October 2009 to 18 March 2010. The course is designed for Geneva-based government officials from ACWL developing country Members and from LDCs, and particularly those whose functions involve legal aspects of trade policy. Participants attending 15 of the 19 sessions will receive a Certificate of Training.
The course examines the basic principles of the WTO legal system, and particularly those governing border measures such as tariffs, fees and customs formalities, the principle of non-discrimination and its exceptions, the national treatment principle and the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries. The course will also examine the principles applicable to the use of subsidies, including agricultural subsidies and the application of technical standards and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, as well as the relationship between WTO legal obligations and public policy and foreign policy objectives. The full programme is available to download at the link provided at the bottom of this page.
The course will be taught by the Executive Director and ACWL lawyers, based on their extensive experience in advising developing countries and LDCs on WTO law and assisting them in WTO dispute settlement proceedings. The course will be conducted in a seminar format that will provide an introduction to WTO law to officials that are less familiar with WTO legal principles while allowing officials that are already familiar with these principles to deepen their knowledge and understanding of them. At the end of the course, participants will be able to develop and test their knowledge through a moot court exercise.
The sessions will be conducted at the premises of the ACWL on Thursdays from 1 to 3 p.m. A light lunch is provided to all participants.
For reasons of space, participation is limited to two officials per delegation. Interested officials are encouraged to fill in the registration form below and send it by email to info@acwl.ch or by fax to 022 919 2122 no later than 5 October 2009.
ACWL programme 2009-2010 (pdf)
Registration form (pdf)