NCCR Trade Regulation
Encyclopedia
NCCR Trade Regulation is a research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation
. It comprises 12 trade-related IP topics, seeks to aid regulators in promoting coherence within a fragmented system of international trade regulations, and is directed by Professor Thomas Cottier, of the University of Bern.
WTO rules increasingly impinge upon other areas of law and policy, including environmental protection, agricultural and regional policies, labour standards, human rights and culture. The purpose of NCCR Trade Regulation is to develop innovative, concrete policy recommendations that reflect a better balance between economic and other regulatory objectives, taking into consideration insights from the disciplines of law, economics and political science. Sustainability will be a key criterion for all proposals. Thus, this project is premised on the idea that academia is going to have an increasingly important role to play in conceptualizing the regulatory debates of the future, and, in particular, elucidating the value-related choices enjeux. Such thinking has to take place outside of the political arena as it cannot be based on short-term rationales. International trade regulation transcends law and politics. The main framework is provided by WTO law, backstopped by its effective enforcement mechanism. WTO law, however, constitutes only one of many international regimes. These regimes, furthermore, exist in what's commonly termed a "normative jungle": There is no common institutional mechanism that can bring about coherence in their negotiation, application and/or interpretation, even though they each operate within the general framework of international law. National constitutional legal systems provided such an all-encompassing institutional framework that also safeguarded a society's fundamental values. Globalization has assailed these systems; they remain only one factor in today's complicated regulatory "equation". The challenge today is to find coherent regulatory solutions that can bring about sustainable development in a multi-layered governmental environment. These solutions have to take account of economic and political realities. Coherence can only be achieved if trade regulation is tailored to the political and social constellations in which it is to be applied and "enforced". They must also support economic efficiency.
The project is in specific cooperation with: the University of Basel
, University of Bern, University of Fribourg
, University of Lausanne
, University of Zurich
; Graduate Institute of International Studies
, Geneva; i-call (International Communications and Art Law Lucerne), University of Lucerne
; Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee
; School of Oriental and African Studies
(SOAS), London. The headquarters of the project is the World Trade Institute
, in Bern, Switzerland. Many other institutions and scholars actively collaborate within the different project sub-topics.
Swiss National Science Foundation
The Swiss National Science Foundation is a science research support organization mandated by the Swiss Federal Government. The SNSF was established in 1952 as a foundation under private law. Its secretariat is based in Bern....
. It comprises 12 trade-related IP topics, seeks to aid regulators in promoting coherence within a fragmented system of international trade regulations, and is directed by Professor Thomas Cottier, of the University of Bern.
WTO rules increasingly impinge upon other areas of law and policy, including environmental protection, agricultural and regional policies, labour standards, human rights and culture. The purpose of NCCR Trade Regulation is to develop innovative, concrete policy recommendations that reflect a better balance between economic and other regulatory objectives, taking into consideration insights from the disciplines of law, economics and political science. Sustainability will be a key criterion for all proposals. Thus, this project is premised on the idea that academia is going to have an increasingly important role to play in conceptualizing the regulatory debates of the future, and, in particular, elucidating the value-related choices enjeux. Such thinking has to take place outside of the political arena as it cannot be based on short-term rationales. International trade regulation transcends law and politics. The main framework is provided by WTO law, backstopped by its effective enforcement mechanism. WTO law, however, constitutes only one of many international regimes. These regimes, furthermore, exist in what's commonly termed a "normative jungle": There is no common institutional mechanism that can bring about coherence in their negotiation, application and/or interpretation, even though they each operate within the general framework of international law. National constitutional legal systems provided such an all-encompassing institutional framework that also safeguarded a society's fundamental values. Globalization has assailed these systems; they remain only one factor in today's complicated regulatory "equation". The challenge today is to find coherent regulatory solutions that can bring about sustainable development in a multi-layered governmental environment. These solutions have to take account of economic and political realities. Coherence can only be achieved if trade regulation is tailored to the political and social constellations in which it is to be applied and "enforced". They must also support economic efficiency.
The project is in specific cooperation with: the University of Basel
University of Basel
The University of Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland, and is considered to be one of leading universities in the country...
, University of Bern, University of Fribourg
University of Fribourg
The University of Fribourg is a university in the city of Fribourg, Switzerland.The roots of the University can be traced back to 1582, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg. In 1763, an Academy of law was founded by the state of Frobourg...
, University of Lausanne
University of Lausanne
The University of Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of theology, before being made a university in 1890. Today about 12,000 students and 2200 researchers study and work at the university...
, University of Zurich
University of Zurich
The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
; Graduate Institute of International Studies
Graduate Institute of International Studies
The Graduate Institute of International Studies, best known as HEI , was founded in 1927 as one of the first institutions in the world dedicated to the study of international relations...
, Geneva; i-call (International Communications and Art Law Lucerne), University of Lucerne
University of Lucerne
The University of Lucerne is a public university with a campus in Luzern, Switzerland. 1231 undergraduates and 1061 postgraduate students attend the university, which makes it Switzerland's smallest university....
; Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
; School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
(SOAS), London. The headquarters of the project is the World Trade Institute
World Trade Institute
The World Trade Institute is a center of advanced studies of the University of Bern. It is located in Berne, Switzerland and directed by Professor Thomas Cottier...
, in Bern, Switzerland. Many other institutions and scholars actively collaborate within the different project sub-topics.