15 Jan 2014|Noida | Amity University Campus, Sector-125 Noida
Law education across the globe needs to become Universal”, stresses Prof. Thomas Cottier, Managing Director of the World Trade Institute (WTI), University of Bern, Switzerland
Prof. Thomas Cottier, Managing Director, World Trade Institute(WTI) and the Institute of European and International Economic Law, Professor of European and International Economic Law at the University of Bern, Switzerland visited Amity University Campus, Sector- 125, Noida to discuss and deliberate upon potential collaborative options between WTI and Amity University.
Prof. Cottier was accompanied by Ms. Corinne Karlaganis and Mr. S.K Shingal, IRS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).
Maj. Gen. Nilendra Kumar- Director, Amity Law School, Noida welcomed the distinguished guests and expressed his hope that the visit of Prof. Cottier will herald a new chapter in the relationship between WTI and Amity University in the area of International Economic Law
Sharing his views, Prof. Thomas Cottier said that the role of World Trade Law has increased not only in the field of Law and Economics but also Sciences. He stated that most of the Law schools across the globe are teaching National Law to the students and the Professors of the Faculty of National Law have been dealing with National Law only. He lamented that the world is lagging behind in legal education. He remarked that today, the world is interconnected and it is essential for the Law to become “Universal” just like Medicines which are not National but Universal. It is with this aim, he shared, that World Trade Institute was set up to train trainees who could pass on this knowledge further.
He suggested Amity University to incorporate a module on “International and Economic law”, which continues to be an uphill battle, he has been fighting for
Prof. Cottier addressed several issues related to the continued relevance of the WTO. He informed the gathering that WTO was formed in 1995 and currently, has over 160 members states.
He expressed that India, as an emerging power, will have a very special responsibility to play in WTO and for that India needs to assume the role of leadership. He remarked with much conviction that India is in a position to develop policies which should be brought to table for multilateral ties.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Ashok K Chauhan- Founder President, Amity Group thanked the revered speaker for taking out time from his busy schedule to enlighten the students and faculty members of Amity. He stressed that International and Economic Law have become very relevant in today’s scenario and called upon the law students of Amity, who have been nurtured to become internationalized professionals, to gain knowledge about the same.
Dr. Chauhan announced the formation of Amity Centre for International Studies in Amity University which will focus on mutual research and study programmes between Amity University and WTI in the area of Economics, Trade, Commerce, Finance, International Relations and Law.
During the visit, Dr. Ashok K Chauhan- Founder President, Amity honored Prof. Thomas Cottier with “Lifetime Professorship” at Amity in the presence of Dr. Gurinder Singh- Additional Vice Chancellor, Amity Group, Ms. Corinne Karlaganis and Mr. S.K Shingal, IRS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).
Giving acceptance speech, Prof. Thomas Cottier expressed his deep gratitude for the honor bestowed upon him and called it a matter of great “trust and recognition”