This course offers a critical and comprehensive examination of International Economic Law (IEL) amidst a paradigm shift in the global order. The post-war Bretton Woods System, once the bedrock of international economic relations, faces unprecedented challenges from geoeconomic competition, rapid technological advancement, and the urgent need for a green transition. This course moves beyond a traditional review of trade, investment, and finance to confront the central dynamics reshaping the field today. While grounded in the traditional pillars of the Bretton Woods System - the WTO, IMF, and World Bank - the course focuses on how these institutions are being challenged and reshaped by geopolitical rivalry, technological disruption, and the climate crisis.

We will analyse the legal and political foundations of the traditional Bretton Woods global economic institutions, with a focus on their current state of crisis and adaptation. The course places significant emphasis on the contemporary weaponisation of economic interdependence, exploring the rise of unilateral sanctions, strategic export controls, and the escalating U.S.-China tech rivalry. We will dissect the legal complexities of the digital economy, including the regulation of cross-border data flows, digital trade agreements, cryptocurrencies, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Furthermore, the course will address the critical intersection of trade and climate change, including the legality of carbon border adjustment mechanisms.

The objective is to empower students with the analytical tools to understand the fracturing of the old economic order and the contours of the new one. By integrating perspectives from international law, international relations, and political economy, students will learn to navigate the complex interplay between state power, national security, and global economic governance, and to critically evaluate how great-power rivalry is forging the future of international economic law.

This course will experiment with a transition from the traditional teacher-focused method to a learning-centred approach supported by new technologies like AI. This shift changes the emphasis from instructors merely delivering information to students actively building their knowledge and skills. Students will utilise AI as a key tool in this new learning model, transforming the classroom from a lecture-based environment into an interactive research space.

Examination: The use of Generative AI tools is not allowed.

Applicable to students admitted before Semester A 2022/23 and in Semester A 2024/25 & thereafter

Students must obtain a minimum mark of 40% in both continuous assessment (CA) and examination and an overall mark of 40% in order to pass the course.

When University facilities and resources are available, students are required to take a computer-based examination in computer labs. During the examination, students are blocked from access to files, programmes and the Internet.

Applicable to students admitted from Semester A 2022/23 to Summer Term 2024

Students must obtain a minimum mark of 50% in both continuous assessment (CA) and examination and an overall mark of 50% in order to pass the course.

When University facilities and resources are available, students are required to take a computer-based examination in computer labs. During the examination, students are blocked from access to files, programmes and the Internet.