cutting issues that are of current relevance, including sovereign debt, the growing importance of

soft law, economic crime, the accountability of international organizations, and the backlash to
globalization.

C. Reading Materials

The Course will not rely on a single textbook. Consistent with its interdisciplinary approach, the
Course will use a broad array of materials. Specifically:

• the legal texts of the relevant treaties and any secondary regulations or memoranda that
have been issued by the relevant international organizations.

• short excerpts from textbooks that provide an overview of the relevant subject matter. For
example, in the area of trade, we will be using some excerpts from Pauwelyn, Guzman
and Hillman, International Trade Law (3rd edition), Wolters Kluwer.

• decisions and opinions issued by relevant dispute settlement bodies, such as the WTO’s
Appellate Body (in the area of trade) and the International Center for the Settlement of
Investment Disputes (in the area of foreign direct investment).

• law review articles or policy briefs published by think tanks that identify the key policy
issues (including, for example, briefs from the Council on Foreign Relations and the
Center for Global Development).

Readings that are identified as “Additional Materials” are purely optional. Students will not
be responsible for these materials during class discussion.

Syllabus

Subject to Change

August 30, 2022

Class 1: Introduction

What do we mean by International Economic Law? The first class will discuss the scope of the
subject matter to be covered and the overall structure of the course. We will also explore the
considerations that motivated the design of the existing legal and institutional architecture the
governs international economic law and discuss why this architecture is currently under stress.
Finally, given the institutional focus of the course, this class will also provide an overview of the
status of international organizations under public international law.

Assigned Readings

3
According to the Committee Report, below, what was the rationale for US participation in the
IMF and World Bank? Where was public opinion?

Participation of the United States in the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development, Report from the Committee on Banking and Currency,
H.R. 3314, 79th Congress, 1st Session (H.R. report No. 629, May 30, 1945), pages 1-4; 10-11
(Section III); 15-20 (Section VI); and skim pages 43-50 (Section XI – attitude of the press). See
Files Class 1

According to William Diebold, below, what was the scope of the envisaged International Trade
Organization and how did if differ from the scope of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade?

United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment (Havana Charter), Interim Commission
for the International Trade Organization, April 1948, skim Table of Contents, and Chapters I and
II; https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/havana_e.pdf

William Diebold, “Reflections on the International Trade Organization,” 14 N.Ill.U.Law Rev.,

335 (1994).

Based on the articles below, why have views on the benefits of globalization and international
cooperation changed?

Vitor Gaspar et al., Steering the World Towards More Cooperation Not Less, IMFBLOG (Sept. 6,
2018), https://blogs.imf.org/2018/09/06/steering-the-world-toward-more-cooperation-not-less/.

D. Irwin, The pandemic adds momentum to the deglobalization trend, PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS (Apr. 13, 2020), https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economic-
issues-watch/pandemic-adds-momentum-deglobalization-trend.

B. Baltzan, “It’s Time to Rethink How We Regulate Global Trade, Open Society Foundation
blog, November 11, 2020; https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/its-time-to-rethink-
how-we-regulate-global-trade.

D. Irwin, Free Trade Under Fire (2nd Edition) (2005), “Introduction,” pp. 1-4.
See Files – Class 1

Finally, based on the excerpt below, what are the key legal attributes of an international
organization? What rules govern the interpretation of the treaties that establish these
organizations?

MALCOLM D. EVANS, INTERNATIONAL LAW, 227-238 (2014). See Files-Class 1