The Annual WTO Conference was originally established in 2000 through a partnership between the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) and the Institute of International Economic Law (IIEL) at the Georgetown University Law Center. The 16th edition of the Conference is organized jointly by BIICL, IIEL, the Graduate Institute, Geneva and the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL).
As originally established by University Professor John H. Jackson of Georgetown, and Professor Sir Francis Jacobs, KCMG, QC, a Trustee of BIICL, the Annual WTO Conference has a longstanding affiliation with the Journal of International Economic Law (JIEL), published by the Oxford University Press. The Annual WTO Conference is one of the most important and prestigious conferences addressing developments in international trade law, pursuing cutting-edge issues of interest to academics and practitioners alike.
To celebrate the life and achievements of Professor Jackson, who passed away in 2015, the Conference will be held in Geneva this year (not London), with a special tribute at the WTO Headquarters, the second day of the Conference, in honour of Professor Jackson.
The Annual WTO Conference has traditionally selected speakers by invitation only; like last year, however, the organizers have decided to conduct a call for papers aimed at opening opportunities especially for younger scholars to present their research and analysis at the Conference. The organizers will consider proposals, in the form of an abstract or a completed short paper, submitted on or before 14 March 2016, for inclusion on the panels being organized on the following five topics:
- Legal Innovation in TPP and Other “deep” Ftas: Toward a “common Law” of FTAS or Substantive Fragmentation on “new Issues”?
- Interpreting “Old” WTO Rules in a World of New FTAS and Other Norm Developments Outside the WTO Treaty
- Global Tax Reforms and Disputes at the Intersection of Trade and Direct Taxation of Multinationals
- The WTO Appellate Body: an Example to Shun or to Follow?
- WTO Negotiations Post-Nairobi: What? How? When?
Additional information and application procedures can be found here.
Sponsored by:
Mayer Brown and Van Bael & Bellis