The course is designed to give an overview of the international legal rules on development and poverty eradication. Students will learn the basic framework for international development cooperation and will be exposed to the current legal and policy debates within the field.

This course will examine the international legal rules, the activities of State actors, international organizations and other entities that deal with the promotion of development and poverty eradication. The course will begin with an examination of the main theories and concept(s) of development. We will be asking ourselves, inter alia, what is development? What kind of development should the international community promote? Is there a right to development? How do we measure development?

It will continue with the analysis of the international legal rules designed to promote development and we will focus on the role played by selected international organizations. The course will firstly examine the activities of the United Nations, its Programs and Specialized Agencies. More specifically, it will examine the UN Development Agenda that emerged following the several UN Development Conferences, including the Millennium Summit, the Monterrey Conference and the 2005 World Summit. The course will then move on to examine the role and activities of the World Bank Group, in particular the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association. It will further examine the role that financial aid (multilateral and bilateral) plays in the promotion of development and we will discuss its effectiveness. The course will continue with a discussion on the relationship and interaction between trade liberalization and development and the role of the World Trade Organization. The course will conclude with an assessment of current policies and will try to identify shortcomings and strengths to propose (new) tools to achieve development, with a focus on sustainable development.

Guest speakers will deliver selected lectures to illustrate the implementation and practical implications of the legal rules studied during this course.