LAW310 International Trade Law — Unit 1: Concept of International Trade Law

Unit 1: Concept of International Trade Law

Syllabus coverage in this unit
1.1 Meaning and Concept of International Trade Law · 1.2 Importance of International Trade Law · 1.3 Sources of International Trade Law

1.1 Meaning and Concept of International Trade Law

International trade — the exchange of goods, services (and capital and ideas) across borders: the imports and exports; the supply chains’ web (the modern good made in many countries).

International trade law — the rules governing those exchanges, working on two layers (the concept’s spine):

1. The private-law layer — the merchant’s law: the sale contracts (Unit 5), the trade terms (Unit 2), the transport and its documents (Unit 4), the financing (Unit 6), the dispute resolution (Unit 12) — the parties’ rights and duties;
2. The public-law layer — the state’s law: the tariffs and quotas, the trade agreements, the WTO’s world (Unit 9), the regional organizations (Units 10-11), the exchange controls (Unit 7) — the governments’ disciplines.

The theories behind the trade (the concept’s background — learn two):

1. Mercantilism — the oldest doctrine: wealth as power; exports encouraged, imports discouraged; the modern echoes in protectionism;
2. Comparative advantage (Ricardo) — trade pays even where one country is better at EVERYTHING: the relative costs matter; each specialises where its disadvantage is least — the mutual gain’s case for free trade (with the honest critiques: the infant-industry argument for late developers; the fair-trade agenda).

1.2 Importance of International Trade Law

1. The certainty the trader needs: the same rule for the same transaction worldwide (the CISG, the Incoterms, the UCP) — the disputes’ prevention and the transaction costs’ reduction;
2. The state’s discipline: the tariffs’ binding, the non-discrimination, the transparency (the WTO’s world) — the trade wars’ prevention;
3. The development dimension: the preferences and the special treatment for the developing and least-developed countries (the S&D principle; the LDC packages) — Nepal’s own stake as an LDC and a landlocked state;
4. The unification’s economy: the divergent national laws were the merchant’s tax — the unifiers (UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT, the ICC) removed it;
5. The national law’s alignment: Nepal’s WTO accession (23 April 2004) committed its laws to the WTO norms — the course’s continuing Nepali thread.

1.3 Sources of International Trade Law

The sources’ hierarchy (the exam’s list):

1. Treaties and conventions — the binding layer: the WTO covered agreements (GATT 1994, GATS, TRIPS); the CISG (Vienna 1980); the New York Convention 1958; the transport conventions (Hague-Visby, Hamburg);
2. Customary international law — the general principles carried into trade: good faith, pacta sunt servanda (LAW 303’s foundations);
3. Soft law and model laws — the UNCITRAL Model Law on arbitration; the UNIDROIT Principles; the model laws’ domestication;
4. The trade usages and standard terms — the lex mercatoria’s revival: the Incoterms, the UCP 600, the standard form contracts (Unit 3), the industry practices — the business’s own law;
5. The international institutions’ acts — the WTO’s dispute settlement reports and decisions; the UNCTAD’s codes and principles; the recommendations;
6. National laws — the implementing layer: Nepal’s Arbitration Act 2055, its customs and foreign exchange laws (Unit 7), the treaty-implementing legislation — and the private international law that picks the governing law when the treaties do not.

The map the sources serve (the course’s architecture): Units 2-6 the private layer (terms, contracts, documents, sale, finance); Unit 7 the exchange-control bridge; Units 8-11 the public layer (the enterprises, the WTO, UNCTAD, the EU); Units 12-13 the disputes and their enforcement.

Model Questions

1. What is international trade law? Explain its concept with the private-public layers. (10)
2. Explain the sources of international trade law with examples. (15)
3. Why is the unification of international trade law important? (10)
4. Short notes: (a) lex mercatoria; (b) comparative advantage; (c) trade usages; (d) soft law. (4×2.5)

📚 Get the complete notes: Download the full International Trade Law PDF (all units) — Law Info Nepal Original Notes Series (LL.B., 3-Year New Course, 2076/077 B.S.).