Why Do the EU and Its Court of Justice Fail to Protect “Strict Observance of International Law” (Article 3(5) TEU) in the World Trading System and in Other Areas of Multilevel Governance of International Public Goods?

Author(s):  
Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann
2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 500-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Howse

AbstractOver the last two decades, trade and environment issues have typically been a source of intense controversy and conflict in the world trading system. Renewable energy, however, represents an area where we believe that freer less-distorted trade and environmental protection have the potential to be mutually reinforcing. Historically, electrical energy itself has not been traded across borders, with some exceptions (Canada and the US and in the EU). However, with the de-monopolisation of electricity in an increasing number of jurisdictions, and the unbundling of functions such as generation, grid operation, transmission, and retailing as well as the development of financial instruments such as futures and options contracts for energy, the structure of the entire market is starting to change, complicating the analysis under WTO law. This article aims to raise questions and suggest areas where domestic and international policymakers may need to consider undertaking further analysis.


2002 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-81 ◽  
Author(s):  

AbstractDuring the 1990s and beyond, the European Union (EU) and Chile have been engaged in a controversy over highly migratory swordfish stocks in the South Pacific. Following disputes over Cod, Turbot, and Tuna, the Swordfish Case reveals outstanding problems in the international law of fisheries. The Swordfish Case attracts further attention, as it involves proceedings both at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and at the World Trade Organisation, with potentially inconsistent decisions. At the WTO, the EU's assertion of a right to access Chilean ports on the grounds of GATT 1994 freedom of transit provisions bears an impact on the use of ports in countries around the world. At the ITLOS Chamber, the long-standing conflict between distant water fishing nations and coastal states is once again to the fore. Although the parties to the dispute arrived at a provisional agreement, setting out to establish a scientific fisheries program and a conservation framework, the issues involved in the swordfish controversy highlight the tensions among the international maritime, economic, and environmental regimes. The article offers an overall account of the core elements of the swordfish dispute.


1996 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 140
Author(s):  
Richard N. Cooper ◽  
Bernard Hoekman ◽  
Michel Kostecki

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 877-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Bagwell ◽  
Robert W Staiger

We provide a first formal analysis of the international rules that govern the use of subsidies to domestic production. Our analysis highlights the impact of the new subsidy disciplines that were added to GATT rules with the creation of the WTO. While GATT subsidy rules were typically viewed as weak and inadequate, our results suggest that the key changes introduced by the WTO subsidy rules may ultimately do more harm than good to the multilateral trading system by undermining the ability of tariff negotiations to serve as the mechanism for expanding market access to more efficient levels.


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