The Law Center is playing host to the second annual Academy of WTO Law and Policy, a chance for those involved in international trade matters to learn the latest about the World Trade Organization.

Registration is open now for the Oct. 29 to Nov. 2 academy, which draws legal minds from all over the world to discuss WTO policy and updates.

"The great advantage for us is that this is probably the city with most expertise on the WTO, international economic law and trade law," said John Jackson, director of the Institute of International Economic Law (IIEL) and university professor of law. "This is a subject matter that moves very fast and we’re attentive to that."

Although attorneys are the primary attendees, the academy is open to other professionals with WTO interest. Other target groups include government officials, policy-makers, diplomats, trade specialists and academics.

So far the academy is drawing participants from Brazil, Canada, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Togo and the United Kingdom, as well as the United States.

The academy is designed so people with a range of specialties can brush up on their niches, but also learn about other trade developments from experts. A number of the lecturers come from the Law Center.

"The WTO agreements cover a wide, wide variety of topics," explained Jane Bradley, IIEL deputy director and adjunct law professor. "For that reason we give a grounding in the policy underpinnings in all of those issues and then some nuts and bolts of the specific agreements."

Professionals who attend the academy are looking for a context on trade areas that are not their own, Jackson said, especially since so many areas of international trade overlap. Each day of the academy ends with a "trade and…" issue, such as trade and labor or trade and health.

Participants also will receive updates on the Doha Development Round, an ongoing WTO negotiation that aims to lower trade barriers internationally. Negotiations began in 2001 and recently resumed after several impasses. Any eventual agreement will affect a broad range of trade divisions.

"At the end of the week we plan to give the participants a hypothetical problem for them to solve together, drawing upon as many of the different subjects we’ve covered during the week that we can throw in," Bradley said of a new feature offered this year.

Concentrating on international trade and legal matters has long been a priority for the Law Center. The WTO academy began last year with Dean T. Alexander Aleinikoff’s encouragement, Jackson said. The professor previously led similar sessions through the American Bar Association before bringing the program to Georgetown last year.

"The WTO is a very powerful organization. I argue it’s the most powerful of the international law dispute systems," Jackson said. "More and more people in the world feel the need to know about the WTO."

The Law Center also offers a WTO certificate to law students and an array of courses and seminars on international trade. But the academy targets busy professionals who don’t have time for a lengthy course or are not enrolled in a law program.

Hosting the academy "showcases what we have here. The campus itself is one of the most amazing law campuses," Jackson said. "We have a library here that I would argue is the best law library in the world for international economic law, particularly for post-World War II."

The early bird special to sign up for the academy runs through Sept. 15 and registration continues until there are no more available slots. Interested participants should contact Christine Washington, program officer for the academy, at 662-4052 or iielacademy@law.georgetown.edu.

-- By Lauren Burgoon, Blue & Gray Assistant Editor

(September 10, 2007)