Commentary on the Doha Round: Institutional Issues

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 1850065
Author(s):  
Debra P Steger
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
International Law ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Uruguay Round ◽  
Doha Round ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
The University

Commentary on Robert Howse's article "WTO Governance and the Doha Round." Debra Steger is Executive in Residence at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law where she is working to establish a new institute for international law, economy and security in Canada. Previously, she was Senior Counsel with Thomas & Partners, a law firm specializing in international trade and investment matters. From 1995-2001, she served as the founding Director of the Appellate Body Secretariat of the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, during which time she helped to establish the Appellate Body as the first appellate tribunal in international trade. She is Chair of the Trade and Customs Law Committee of the International Bar Association, and has been on the executive of the Trade Committee of the International Law Association for the past 10 years. She is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal for International Economic Law. She participates on the Advisory Council of the UNCTAD Project on Building Capacity through Training in Dispute Settlement in International Trade Investment and Intellectual Property as well as the Governing Council of the World Trade Law Association. During the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, she was the Senior Negotiator for Canada on Dispute Settlement and the Establishment of the World Trade Organization as well as the Principal Legal Counsel to the Government of Canada for all of the Uruguay Round agreements. From 1991—1995, she was General Counsel of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal in Ottawa, the agency responsible for administering the antidumping, countervail, safeguards, and government procurement legislation in Canada. Her most recent book is entitled: “Peace Through Trade: Building the WTO” which was published by Cameron May International Legal Publishers in 2004. Steger holds an LL.M. from the University of Michigan Law School, an LL.B. from the University of Victoria Faculty of Law, and a B.A. (Honours) in History from the University of British Columbia.

WTO Dispute Settlement: Praise and Suggestions for Reform

1998 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 647-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Schoenbaum
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Uruguay Round ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
Objective Standard ◽  
Wto Dispute Settlement ◽  
The World ◽  
Appeal Process

We have now had three years' experience with the dispute-settlement process of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which came into existence as a result of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations on 1 January 1995. By any objective standard, this system of dispute settlement is a resounding success. Well over 100 cases have been brought to the WTO, and, as at the end of 1997,25cases had been settled at the consultation stage, 61 were under consultations and 36 were in or beyond the panel-appeal process. The newly created Appellate Body has decided nine cases, the quality of its opinions as well as those of the dispute-settlement panels is generally excellent. Member States of the WTO are complying with the rulings and recommendations adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO.

scholarly journals A RELAÇÃO ENTRE ESTADO E AS ENTIDADES PRIVADAS NA REGULAÇÃO DO COMÉRCIO INTERNACIONAL POR MEIO DOS REGULAMENTOS E PADRÕES PRIVADOS

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-220
Author(s):  
Patricia Yurie Dias
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
International Law ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Wto Dispute Settlement ◽  
Private Standards ◽  
Complementary Role ◽  
The World

RESUMOO trabalho analisa o papel complementar dos regulamentos e padrões privados dos Estados e das entidades não estatais às regras da Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC) com o intuito de gerar maior segurança e qualidade para os produtos no âmbito do comércio internacional. A OMC visa promover a liberalização e eliminação da discriminação do comércio internacional. Dessa forma, por meio do estudo de alguns casos submetidos ao Órgão de Solução de Controvérsias (OSC) da OMC, em que pese a maioria dos casos submetidos ao OSC terem tido desfechos distintos, constatou-se que os padrões privados podem complementar as regras da OMC, desde que não sejam medidas protecionistas  disfarçadas de barreiras não tarifárias ao comércio internacional.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Direito Internacional; Jurisdição Internacional; Padrões privados; Comércio Internacional; OMC.ABSTRACTThe paper examines the complementary role of the private regulations and standards of States and non-state entities to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in order to promote safety and quality for products in the scope of international trade. The WTO aims to promote the liberalization and elimination of discrimination in international trade. Thus, through the study of some cases submitted to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), despite the fact that most cases submitted to the DSB had different conclusions, it was found that private standards can complement the rules of the WTO, if they are not protectionist measures disguised as non-tariff barriers to international trade.KEYWORDS: International Law; International Jurisdiction; Private Standards; International Trade; WTO.

Ways out of the Globalization Trilemma

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Herrmann-Pillath
Keyword(s):  
International Economic ◽  
International Trade ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Trade Policy ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
The World ◽  
Operational Criterion

Based on Rodrik’s diagnosis of a “globalization trilemma” in designing the institutions of international economic exchange, this chapter suggests a solution that applies Sen’s argument favoring realization-focused comparisons over transcendental institutionalism in evaluating institutions. In the paradigm of deliberative trade policy, this contribution approaches the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a regime of deliberation, reaching beyond the scope of interactions with civil society. This prepares the ground for normative principles of WTO reform that shift the emphasis from efficiency to justice, mainly in the procedural sense. The central operational criterion is the inclusiveness of international trade and trade policy. This is applied on the issues of multilateralism versus regionalism and the design of the dispute settlement process. A WTO renewed under the auspices of deliberative trade policy can meet the challenges of new trade policy issues such as coordination of regulatory regimes under the conditions of rapid and unpredictable technological change, and can resolve the tension between democracy and globalization as laid out in the globalization trilemma.

scholarly journals The Future of Amicus Participation at the WTO: Implications of the Sardines Decision and Suggestions for Further Developments

2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Keller
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Democratic Participation ◽  
Global Society ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future

In today's increasingly interdependent global society, international institutions formerly committed to operating as insular systems recognizing only states as legitimate participants have come under pressure to open their processes to public view and participation. The World Trade Organization (WTO) in particular has been widely criticized for its lack of transparency and democratic participation. Nowhere has this criticism been more prevalent than in the arena of dispute settlement. The controversy over the acceptance of amicus briefs at the WTO reflects the tensions among WTO members and non-members concerning greater public access to dispute settlement proceedings. This battle has been fought primarily through the Appellate Body and its important series of decisions on amicus briefs.

scholarly journals Implikasi Prinsip Most Favoured Nation terhadap Pengaturan Tarif Impor Di Indonesia

Wajah Hukum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Dony Yusra Pebrianto
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
International Law ◽  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
The World ◽  
National Production

The existence of trade liberalization are faced with the fact that competition in the trade of countries particularly in this export and import kian feels very rapidly. The existence of instruments of international law contained in the General Agreement on the set fee and Trade (GATT) becomes an important point in the conception of international trade arrangements for States parties who joined GATT in the World Trade Organization (WTO). So the principles inherent in the preparation of the concept of a national law for countries that have ratified GATT. Indonesia one of the countries that have ratified GATT would of course be bound by those principles, one of which is the principle of Most Favoured Nation tariff arrangements that implicates to import in Indonesia. So the protection of local commodities closed chances though limited to keep the continuity of the national production. 

Reviewing dispute settlement at the World Trade Organization: a time to reconsider the role/s of compensation?

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARWEL DAVIES
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
International Law ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Trade Disputes ◽  
Financial Compensation ◽  
Unilateral Action ◽  
Natural Time ◽  
The World ◽  
Do So

The World Trade Organization provides a forum for the settlement of trade disputes arising between its 148 Members. Should consultations fail, the parties may choose to initiate formal proceedings in Geneva, and must do so in preference to taking unilateral action. The dispute settlement rules are presently under review with a view to their clarification and improvement, making this a natural time to ask whether the appropriate strategy has been identified. This article focuses on the functions of compensation in the overall context of WTO remedies. Particular attention is given to the prospects for new disciplines and increased practice connected with the granting of both trade compensation and financial compensation. Also considered is the extent to which financial compensation can and should be linked to reparation in the sense of correcting the injury caused by WTO violations. The discussion is informed by the general international law position, by proposals made during the on-going review process and by emerging dispute settlement practice.

scholarly journals The Law on State Responsibility and the World Trade Organization

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 759-803
Author(s):  
Anna Ventouratou
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
International Law ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
State Responsibility ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
The World ◽  
The Law

Abstract This paper examines the role of general international law in the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime, using the rules on state responsibility as a case study. It identifies and discusses instances in WTO case law where such rules were applied directly or were taken into consideration in interpreting relevant WTO provisions. The analysis demonstrates that direct application of general international law for the determination of indispensable matters not regulated by the WTO Agreements is part of the inherent powers of WTO adjudicative bodies. Moreover, under Article 3(2) Dispute Settlement Understanding and Article 31(3)(c) Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, WTO adjudicative bodies have an obligation to take into account general international law in interpreting relevant WTO provisions. The paper delineates the methodology for assessing the interaction between general international law and WTO law and highlights the importance of adhering to this methodology to provide clarity and legal certainty regarding the scope and content of WTO obligations.

scholarly journals Global Governance: The World Trade Organization’s Contribution

2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 1061
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Mitchell ◽  
Elizabeth Sheargold
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Current System ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Administrative Practices ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
Wto Dispute Settlement ◽  
The World ◽  
Wto Agreements

Democracy and administrative law concern ideas of governance, legitimacy, and accountability. With the growth of bureaucracy and regulation, many democratic theorists would argue that administrative law mechanisms are essential to achieving democratic objectives. This article considers the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) contribution to governance both in terms of global administrative law and democracy. In relation to administrative law, it first explores the extent to which the WTO’s own dispute settlement process contributes to this area. Second, it considers the operation of administrative law principles embedded within the WTO Agreements on Members. For example, the WTO Agreements require that certain laws be administered “in a uniform, impartial and reasonable manner.” This obligation was recently considered by the Appellate Body, but uncertainty remains about the scope this provision has to permit WTO panels to review domestic administrative practices. In relation to the WTO’s contribution to democracy, this article first considers the challenges and limitations of the current system of decision making within the WTO and compares it to democratic theory. Second, it examines how democracies comply with the findings of WTO dispute settlement tribunals and how compliance could be improved. It concludes by speculating on the implications of this discussion for public international law more broadly.

scholarly journals Demystifying the Prudential Carve-out: A proposal

Con-texto ◽  
2015 ◽  
pp. 157
Author(s):  
Samuel Trujillo
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
International Law ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Expert Panel ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Highly Qualified ◽  
Prudential Regulation ◽  
The World

<p>This article explores how the broadest spirited exception in the framework of the World Trade Organization, commonly referred to as the prudential carve-out, could be applied without adding to or diminishing the rights and obligations of WTO Members. It argues that through the customary rules of interpretation of international law, the only standard applicable to the prudential carve out is that of a reasonable means to ends connection. However, this broad standard of review can be enriched by expert knowledge on financial and prudential regulation, given that the form of dispute settlement established in the Annex to Financial Services of the GATS provides a window for dissecting the concept of “prudential”. The AFS requires that an “expert panel” decide on controversies regarding financial and prudential issues, instead of the ordinary “highly qualified” WTO panel. The article draws on principles developed by the disciplines of micro- and macroprudential regulation to exemplify how expert knowledge can guide an otherwise vague standard of review.</p>

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