Venue: University Of Ljubljana, School Of Social Sciences, Department Of International Relations, Slovenia. For online participation register HERE.
Despite many successes in establishing and maintaining an open economic world system, the WTO institutional arrangement found itself in crisis. There has been a substantial increase in international trade volume in the last quarter of the century. However, many regions and social groups both in the developed and the developing countries remain excluded from the benefits of the current arrangement. Structural imbalances in international trade, caused by domestic and international policy measures, have not yet been sufficiently addressed. Recent attempts to tackle persistent international imbalances by unilateral measures revealed that they can only deepen the crisis and erode the trust towards the multilateral institutions. International challenges in addressing persistent imbalances can be effectively resolved only at the international level. After the failed Doha round the attempts to launch a ‘truly development friendly’ trade talks were replaced by the expansion of bilateral and regional trade agreements, by the (uneven) rise of BRICS countries, by the protracting financial and economic crisis in many parts of the world and most recently by the trade wars between some of the major trading blocs in the world. International trade rules should be redefined to secure more inclusive, more sustainable, and more diverse domestic and international development. Only in the context of inclusive knowledge economy the notion of sustainability can gain its full scope. The key challenge remains how to reconcile international openness with the sufficient maneuver room for national and regional development strategies and how to secure thecoexistence between different economic and social models with the idea of free trade. The purpose of the International Conference organized by University of Ljubljana, School of Social Sciences, Department of International Relations, Slovenia, the ESIL Interest Group on International Environmental Law and the ASIL Interest Group on International Environmental law, is to analyze the normative, conceptual and practical possibilities to overcome the current WTO impasse in such a way to reconcile international openness with the domestic policy space in implementing more inclusive and sustainable policies. A reimagination of international trade framework could gain new legitimacy, new impetus in both developed and developing parts of the world in times urgently seeking for new global socially inclusive and green trade deals.
30 June 2023
8.30 – 8.45
Registration
8.45 – 9:00
Welcoming Remarks
Iztok Prezelj (Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Paolo Davide Farah (West Virginia University, USA and gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development, UK)
Matjaz Nahtigal (Head of International Relations Department, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
9:00 – 10:45
1st Panel:
Inaugural Panel and Key Note Speakers
Energy Transition and Sustainable Development – Dissemination of Good Practices
Chair and Discussant
Paolo D. Farah
(West Virginia University, USA and gLAWcal, UK)
Catherine Banet (University of Oslo, Faculty of Law, Norway) – Energy Transition, Resilience and International Solidarity
Alessandra Arcuri (University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands) – Breaking Free from the Fossil Fuel Economy: People Have the Power
Sergi Corbalan (European Parliament, Belgium) – Trade and Sustainable Development: Key Current Developments at EU Level and Impact on Developing Countries
10:15 – 10:45 - Discussion
10:45 – 11:15 - Coffee Break
11:15 – 13:00
2nd Panel:
WTO Reform, South – South Cooperation, Sustainable and Inclusive International Development
Chair and Discussant
Catherine Banet (University of Oslo, Norway)
Sanya Yadav and Versha Vahini (Bennett University, India): Global Trade Liberalisation and Developing Countries
Mariona Cardona Valles (University of Oberta de Catalunya, Spain) – Sustainable Development and WTO
Nicolette Butler and J. Tarawneh (University of Manchester, UK) – Operationalisation of the WTO Least Developing Countries (LDC) Services Waiver
Jacopo Natali (University of Milan, Italy) – Pharma Innovations, Public Health and Trade Law
12:30 – 13:00 Discussion
13:00 – 15:00 Lunch Break
15:00 – 17:00
3rd Panel:
Trade, Development and Environment Nexus (1)
Chair and Discussant
Matjaz Nahtigal
(University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Luigi Crema (University of Milan, Italy and Notre Dame University, USA) – Conditionality as an Obstacle to International Cooperation
Tariq Khan (Institute for Global Dialogue, South Africa) – Persistent Imbalances in Asia-Africa Trade
Olaniyi Olayinka (Redemeer University, Ontario, Canada) – Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and Settlement Dispute in Africa
Attila Nagy (University of Yena, Germany) – BRICs and Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) Trading Blocs
16:30 – 17:00 - Discussion
1 July 2023
9:00 – 11:00 - 4th Panel:
Trade, Development and Environment Nexus (2)
Chair and Discussant
Matjaz Nahtigal (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Tushti Chopra, Indraprastha Uni (New Delhi University, India) – India, International Trade, Sustainable Development
Rajesh Kota (Osmania University, India) – Forced Labour and Global Political Economy - Case, Class and Gender Exploitation in India
Jiajin Lin and Yanxuedan Zhang (Shanghai Ocean University, China) – Biodiversity and International Trade Fish Products
10:30 – 11:00 - Discussion
11:00 – 11:30 - Coffee Break
11:30 – 13:30 - 5th Panel:
Trade, Development and Environment Nexus (3)
Chair and Discussant
Martin Svec (Masaryk University, Faculty of Law, Brno, Czech Republic)
Alessandra Guida (Queen's University of Belfast) – Free Trade vs. Biosafety and Sustainability – How Precaution and Proportionality can Mitigate Normative and Judicial Issues in Trade Contexts
Isha Das and Vinitka Vij (University of Passau, Germany and Jindal Global Law School, India) – Highlighting Neglect of Developing Countries' Socio-economic Conditions in Environmental Trade Measures
Paolo D. Farah (West Virginia University, USA and gLAWcal, UK) and Imad Antoine Ibrahim (University of Twente, The Netherlands and gLAWcal, UK) – Technology Transfer via Climate Change and Trade Law towards Sustainable Development
Khaled M. Kweileh (International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) – Challenges in Achieving Economic Integration among Arab Countries
13:30 – 14:00 Discussion
14:00 – 15:30 Lunch Break
15:30 – 17:30 - 6th Panel:
Trade, Development and Environment Nexus (4)
Chair and Discussant
Paolo D. Farah
(West Virginia University, USA and gLAWcal, UK)
Matjaz Nahtigal (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia) – Just Energy Transition, SDGs Implementation and the Constraining Development Space
Martin Svec (Masaryk University, Czech Republic) – Persistent Imbalances in EU's Effort to Ensure Secure and Sustainable Supply of Critical Raw Materials for Europe's Industry
Mara Bisi and Piercarlo Rossi (University of Turin, Italy) – The Role of Supreme National Courts for the Non-Trade Concerns: the Case of Bhopal
Kwanghyuk (David) Yoo (Emory University School of Law) – For Whom the Bell Tolls: Balancing Environmental Justice and Economic Justice in the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
Elena Lunder (Expert at Expert at Focus Association for Sustainable Development) – The Cost-Of-Living Crisis and Corporate Accountability: How the Unequal Distribution of Power in Global Value Chains Connects to Rising Food Prices in Slovenia
17:00 – 17:30 Discussion
17:30 – 17:45
Concluding Remarks by the Conference Chairs and Coordinators
Lessons Learned on International Trade and the Prospects for Sustainable Development
Paolo Davide Farah (West Virginia University, USA and gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development, UK)
Matjaz Nahtigal (Faculty of Social Sciences, Head of International Relations Department, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Co-organizers
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of International Relations Department (Slovenia); West Virginia University, Eberly College Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative on Global Challenges and Local Response Initiatives (USA), WVU Energy Justice and Just Transition Lab (USA), the European Society of International Law (ESIL) Interest Group on International Environmental Law, the American Society of International Law (ESIL) Interest Group on International Environmental Law and, gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development, UK
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