Mona Paulsen

This course is available on the LLM (extended part-time), LLM (full-time), MSc in Development Studies, MSc in Law and Finance and University of Pennsylvania Law School LLM Visiting Students. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

How to apply: Priority will be given initially to LLM, MSc Regulation and MSc Law and Finance students on a first-come-first-served allocation.

Spaces permitting, requests from all other students will be processed on the same first-come-first-served allocation from 10am on Thursday 1 October 2026

By submitting an application, students are confirming that they meet any pre-requisites specified. Providing an additional written statement will not aid a student's chances of being accepted onto a course, and statements are not read.

Deadline for application: Not applicable

For queries contact: Law.llm@lse.ac.uk

This course has a limited number of places and demand is typically high. This may mean that you’re not able to get a place on this course.

None. Students with no previous background in public international law may find it helpful to consider consulting a standard textbook such as M. Evans (ed.), International Law (5th ed., 2018) or G. Hernandez, International Law (2022).

In a time of trade wars, climate change, rapid technological innovation, and expanding economic security policies, what are the functions of trade law? What are the common rules and procedures that secure market access for cross-border flows of goods and services? How do governments balance domestic interests and non-economic objectives with economic interests and trade strategies? How do private businesses and non-governmental actors fit into a complex regime of trade governance?  

LL4B1, “International Trade Law”, is an engaging graduate seminar on the law and policy of international trade. It is designed for students interested in learning about trade rules, whether they plan to become practitioners, policymakers, scholars, representatives of business or labour groups, or customs officials. There is no expectation that students will have a pre-existing background in trade. By the end of the course, students will be able to analyse international trade instruments with confidence and competence.

The course introduces students to an array of international legal instruments that govern States’ regulation of cross-border trade in goods and services – including unilateral declarations, international standards, mini-deals, regional and other preferential trading arrangements, and the global system of trade rules operated by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The WTO is the central multilateral forum for its members to negotiate trade agreements and resolve trade disputes. International trade rules provide stability and predictability, enabling businesses to trade, invest, and create employment. Students will learn the foundations of WTO agreements by exploring the negotiation of tariff barriers and the disciplines on non-tariff barriers, trade remedies (such as subsidies and countervailing duties), technical barriers to trade, government procurement, and other issues.

International trade law necessarily intersects with domestic law and the internal law of regional organisations (such as EU law), from border measures like tariffs to internal measures like taxation and regulation. In addition to understanding the scope and breadth of trade disciplines, students will learn how to evaluate government measures that affect trade for a range of social reasons, including environmental protection and safety, national security, and consumer information. Using case studies, students will collaborate to analyse how governments resolve disputes arising from these intersections through consultation, negotiation and adjudication, and consider the impacts of these cases on domestic economic and regulatory policies.

Finally, the course provides a foundation for assessing contemporary challenges to and defences of international trade law. What is the future of international trade law in relation to economic security, risk and resilience, unfair trade practices, electronic commerce and digital technologies, and climate change? The course will explore how trade strategies and the grammar of trade are changing (for example, a shift in focus from comparative advantage to dependencies). The study of international trade law raises many cross-cutting issues, inviting students to analyse the field in relation to other areas such as law and finance, international investment, intellectual property, competition, human rights, and environmental protection.

Students with deeper interests in development issues and the political economy of trade may complement this course with LL4AV: International Economic Law and Development.

20 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.
2 hours of seminars in the Spring Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

One 2,000 word formative essay during the course.

Reading assignments are provided for each seminar on Moodle and draw from various primary and secondary source materials, accompanied by reading guides and handouts to enhance student participatory learning. Indicative reading includes assigned textbook chapters, relevant WTO rules, and extracts from WTO dispute settlement reports. Additionally, students can engage in academic and policy debates based on various cross-disciplinary materials, including guest speakers, videos, podcasts, and academic scholarship.

The course relies upon a digital textbook: J. Hillman et al., International Trade Law from Multiple Perspectives. Every effort is made to provide online reading assignments through the LSE library to enhance accessibility. Other helpful textbooks include P. Van den Bossche & W. Zdouc, The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization: Text, Cases and Materials (5th ed., 2021); S. Lester et al., World Trade Law, Texts Materials, and Commentary (3rd ed.  2018); and R. Howse et al., The Regulation of International Trade (4th ed., 2013).

Primary WTO source materials are available for download from the WTO’s website.

Exam (100%), duration: 150 Minutes in the Spring exam period.