Webinar – Navigating Global Trade Law in 2026

Description

Global trade law is currently undergoing profound transformations. Geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, economic security policies, and the growing use of sanctions and export controls are reshaping the legal framework governing international commerce.
For practitioners, navigating this evolving legal landscape can prove particularly challenging. The applicable rules are dispersed across a wide range of legal sources, including World Trade Organization agreements, European Union regulations, international conventions and transnational commercial standards.

This webinar proposes a structured and practice-oriented exploration of the legal architecture governing global trade. Drawing on the recently published Code essentiel – Droit du commerce international et européen, the session will provide participants with a clear and coherent overview of the key legal sources structuring international trade relations.

Each thematic section will begin with practical scenarios inspired by recent developments in international trade, which will serve as entry points to analyse the relevant legal provisions reproduced in the Code. Through these case-based illustrations, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how international trade rules operate in practice and how the different legal sources interact.

The objective of the webinar is therefore twofold: first, to provide participants with a structured overview of the legal framework governing global trade; and second, to demonstrate how the key provisions reproduced in the Code can be mobilised in concrete legal situations encountered by practitioners.

Program

• The multilateral foundations of international trade law: WTO agreements and dispute settlement
• Uniform law of international commerce and cross-border commercial transactions
• European Union customs law and the regulation of international trade in goods
• Trade defence instruments: anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard measures
• The European Union’s network of free trade agreements
• Economic sanctions, export controls and economic security policies
• Transnational commercial rules and soft law shaping international commercial practice

Speakers

• David Leys : Avocat au barreau de Bruxelles, assistant d'enseignement et de recherche au CRIDES de l'UCLouvain, professeur invité à la Haute École Francisco Ferrer et chargé de cours à l'EPFC