Centre for Trade and Investment Law

The Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL) is administered by the Government of India (GoI) to provide inputs on legal issues. The legal issues are connected with international trade and investment law. The CTIL was established in 2016 by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The CTIL functions as a research-oriented organisation within the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT). The CTIL consists of a dedicated team of legal experts who provide inputs relating to various aspects of international economic law. These inputs are used by the Central Government to develop trade policies to strengthen India’s domestic commerce and industry and to enhance India’s participation in International Trade.

Aim of the CTIL

To be a global leader in all the domains of international economic law. It includes laws governing international investments, economic integration and issues connected with the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Mission of the CTIL

To provide innovative ideas and perspectives to influence the global discourse on the various international laws governing trade, commerce and economics.

Objectives of the CTIL

Provide continuous support to various governmental and entrepreneurial stakeholders in the form of knowledge-based inputs, in the subjects of trade, economic and commercial law
Maintain a database of changes in economic trends affected by legislative changes that are taking place in the industrial scenario
Enhance the education for interns and provide a platform to learn law related to treaties and applicability

Interaction With Stakeholders

The CTIL regularly interacts with various stakeholders whose functioning is affected by changes in laws relating to industrial matters. The stakeholders include various state governments, private think-tanks and research centres, national law schools, other institutions involved in providing legal education and other private institutions connected with the industry. This ensures that a continuously updated portal of information regarding the impact of commercial legal provisions is always available at hand.

Functions of CTIL

Undertaking original research on global trade and investment issues
Promoting discourse on trade and commerce in the international arena
Analysing on how to avoid conflict of interest between regulatory interests of governmental agencies and business interests of entrepreneurs
Anticipating how to deal with emerging issues in trade, commerce and industry, and laws dealing with these issues
Promoting debate on policies that have an impact on trade and investment
Providing an intellectual framework for future trade policy initiatives of the government
Providing advice relating to how trade agreements should be drafted in the best interests of the Indian economic scenario
Suggesting the measures which should be undertaken in case there is any breach in any international agreement
Promoting awareness about trade, investment and industrial issues among trade organisations and the general public

Steering Committee

All academic activities conducted by the CTIL are monitored and guided by the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee of the CTIL is its apex body and serves the functions of:

Approving the plan of work proposed by the members of the CTIL
Analysing and sanctioning the budget of the CTIL
Defining the scope of the functions of the CTIL
Overall monitoring of the activities of the CTIL

The Steering Committee is convened at least two times each year. A minimum of one-third of the total number of members is required to attend any meeting of the Steering Committee. The CTIL can receive funds only through the IIFT. Funds can be received only from sources approved by the Steering Committee. Details of expenditure incurred by the CTIL should be submitted to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry annually, after approval by the Steering Committee.

Availability of Internship Opportunity

CTIL also provides internship opportunities for law students for LLB or LLM programmes. The internship will enable the candidate to obtain practical experience in areas connected with international commerce, trade and investment. The internship offered by the CTIL will help the candidate to acquire exposure to international laws and applicability. CTIL offers two kinds of internships, the regular internship programme and the flagship internship programme. The regular programme is conducted exclusively by the CTIL, and the flagship programme is offered in association with Centre for WTO Studies, Department of Commerce, Government of India. Preference for Shortlisting of candidates for the internship will be given for those who have studied international trade and investment law as a subject in their law programme.

Role of the CTIL in Industrial Development

The CTIL regularly analyses modifications made to the legal corpus in India, relating to the fields of commerce and economics. It attempts to predict the impact of any particular legislation will be on the industry as a whole, or any particular industry segment, and provides gives inputs to the government on how the industrial growth can be promoted.
The CTIL maintains an independent database or knowledge bank which includes access to several academic content-warehouses. This facility provides data instantly from a wide variety of international journals. As a result, research scholars enrolled at the CTIL can have access to information relating to the industry in the format required by them.
Future models can also be constructed for industrial trends, using present and past data. Thus, the CTIL is able to provide forecasts to the government and private entrepreneurs economic, and these can be used by the government in arriving at important policy decisions affecting industries.
The database available with the CTIL can be used to determine the performance of India's role in relation to the various multilateral treaties and with the WTO. CTIL shall provide inputs on the trade agreements in case of any modifications. Upon necessary modification, the GoI communicates with the other country to take necessary action. Through these reviews, the GoI takes a balanced view of import and export marketing policies.
The CTIL maintains a repository of trade and investment-related information. This includes regular updates on various international trade negotiations and disputes. In the case of allegation of non-compliance with any treaty, a detailed analysis may be made, and the relevant observations are reported. This facility helps the government to frame better agreements in the future.

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