International Regulation on E-Commerce

For PhD students: This lecture in law was eligible as part of the PhD seminar series.

Brief description:

It is the course’s objective to offer insights into the international regulation of electronic commerce. Building upon a brief analysis of the technological advances and the broader governance changes underlying the digital era, the course will explore how these are matched (or not) by the international legal framework for trade. At the start of our enquiry are the multilateral rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). We examine how they presently regulate electronic commerce, as well as where they have been challenged or indeed rendered dated by the newer technological advancements. Students will be able to test and expand their knowledge in particular with regard to the General Agreement of Trade in Services (GATS) but also with regard to the overall working of the WTO. We will map the problematic issues and the proposals for tackling them. As legal adaptation has been protracted under the umbrella of the WTO, in order to understand the contemporary state of applicable law for digital commerce, it is critical to know the rules of the multiple bilateral and regional preferential trade agreements (PTAs). Students will therefore have access to a fine-grained analysis of the evolving body of law in PTAs, highlighting also newer agreements like the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Partnership for Transpacific Agreement (CPTPP).

Overall, students will have an up-to-date mapping and analysis of all legal and policy developments in the context of regulating electronic commerce. They will be able to evaluate the process of adaptation of international trade law and have a grasp on the state of affairs and the possible prospective avenues for digital trade governance.