The Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi celebrated its 5^th Anniversary and released the Fifth Anniversary issue of CTIL Magazine on August 2, 2022 at the Constitutional Club of India, Rafi Marg, New Delhi.

The event marked five years of inception of CTIL providing sound and rigorous analysis of legal issues pertaining to international trade and investment law. CTIL was established by Department of Commerce, Government of India with the objective of developing international trade and investment law capacity in India and as a repository of information on trade and investment law. CTIL has over the years emerged as a leader in engaging in and influencing the evolving discourse on global economic law issues. CTIL has also organised numerous conferences, stakeholder consultations, seminars and training programmes.

The Guest of Honour for the event was Shri. B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, Commerce Secretary, Government of India, who delivered the Keynote Address on “India’s perspective on WTO and MC 12”. The address highlighted India’s key contributions and successes on acting as a ‘deal-maker’ while preserving its interests in public stockholding and prevention of IUU fishing during the recent 12^th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Geneva. He emphasized on the important role India is expected to and should play in multilateral discussions by positively engaging in issues like gender, labour and environment.

Ambassador Ujal Singh Bhatia, former Ambassador of India to the WTO and the former Chairman of the WTO Appellate Body delivered the Anniversary Distinguished Lecture on “Appellate Advocacy in International Trade Law: Views from the Bench”. The lecture provided insights into Ambassador Bhatia’s experience as a member and Chairman of the WTO Appellate Body. He emphasized on the uniqueness of the appellate procedure of the WTO’s dispute settlement body (DSB) by highlighting the high number of compliances of WTO DSB reports. He also underlined the relationship between public international law and international trade law, which was particularly strengthened with the emergence of globalization and adoption of the WTO DSB mechanism.

A Special Address on “The Role of Academic Think Tanks in Trade Policy Making” was delivered by Shri Amit Yadav, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. The address accentuated the importance of academic engagement in trade policy formulation, particularly the assistance provided by CTIL and other CRIT Centres established by the Department of Commerce. He emphasized on the importance of creating an institutional memory through the Centres in order to enable the government to take informed decisions.

Professor James J. Nedumpara, Head and Professor, Centre for Trade and Investment Law delivered the Welcome Address and discussed the role played by CTIL in the past five years, including contributions in recent FTA negotiations. He thanked the leadership and encouragement by the Department of Commerce and IIFT to assist the Centre in achieving its goals in the past five years. This was followed by Vice Chancellor’s address delivered by Professor Manoj Pant, Vice Chancellor, IIFT. He applauded CTIL's work as a ‘unique experiment’ to link academia and trade policy in the country.

The event concluded with vote of thanks, followed by dinner.

WTO dispute settlement: emphasis on appellate procedure and India's engagement shaping trade policy and institutional capacity. CTIL celebrated its fifth anniversary and released a magazine, reaffirming its role as a Department of Commerce established research and training hub that builds India's capacity in international trade and investment law, contributes to FTA negotiations, organises stakeholder engagements, and preserves institutional memory to support informed trade policy-making. Speakers focused on India's engagement in the WTO, the distinctive appellate procedure of the WTO dispute settlement system and its compliance record, and the role of academic think tanks in policy formulation.