scholarly journals No Outsourcing of Law? WTO Law as Practiced by WTO Courts

2008 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petros C. Mavroidis
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Critical Assessment ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
The Law

This article provides a critical assessment of the corpus of law that the adjudicating bodies of the World Trade Organization (WTO)—the Appellate Body (AB) and panels—have used since the organization was established on January 1, 1995. After presenting a taxonomy of WTO law, I move to discern, and to provide a critical assessment of, the philosophy of the WTO adjudicating bodies, when called to interpret it. In discussing the law that WTO adjudicating bodies have used, I distinguish between sources of WTO law and interpretative elements. This distinction will be explicated in part I below. Part II provides a taxonomy of the sources of WTO law, and part III a taxonomy of the interpretative elements used to illuminate those sources. Part IV concludes.

Diversity and Legitimacy of the World Trade Organization’s Bench

2020 ◽  
pp. 427-445
Author(s):  
Cosette D Creamer ◽  
Zuzanna Godzimirska
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Academic Experience ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter sheds light on the relationship between the composition of the bench and the sociological legitimacy of the judicial branch of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Two identity characteristics are consistently part of the criticism of the WTO’s bench: the lack of female adjudicators as well as individuals with academic experience. Overall, however, the identity of the bench does not appear to matter greatly for how WTO Members evaluate its exercise of authority. We suggest that the role of the WTO’s Legal Affairs Division and the Appellate Body Secretariat in streamlining outcomes and procedures may best explain this, as it helps prevent such diversity from manifesting in dispute rulings. Alternatively, it tells us that judicial diversity matters more for the bench’s normative legitimacy—and for scholars—than it does for governments.

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 The Unanswered: Indirect Protection through the GATT

2019 ◽  
pp. 83-130
Author(s):  
Charlotte E. Blattner
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
International Law ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Trade Law ◽  
The World ◽  
Academic Discussion ◽  
The Law ◽  
Restrictive Measures ◽  
Indirect Protection

This chapter explores the breadth and scope of options available to states that want to indirectly protect animals across the border, in particular under the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The flurry of academic discussion at the intersection of animal and trade law was sparked by the Appellate Body’s Seals report in 2014, but it failed to cut deep enough to link to the doctrine of jurisdiction under general international law, and efforts to enter negotiations to more thoroughly protect animals in trade never materialized. The author advances the discussion and fills a gap in scholarship by examining whether and how states can use trade law to indirectly protect animals abroad through import prohibitions, taxes and tariffs, as well as labels. An analysis of the legality of trade-restrictive measures that indirectly protect animals under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) precedes a discussion of justifications for violating the agreement.

scholarly journals Japanese Response to Indonesian Law Banning the Export of Raw Minerals

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (18) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Tai Fang Yi
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
Coal Mining ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Export Activity ◽  
The World ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
Minerals Processing ◽  
Bahasa Indonesia

<p>The government of Indonesia enacted a policy banning the export of raw minerals in 2009, materialized in Law No. 04 of 2009 on Mineral and Coal Mining. The law mandated the raw minerals processing inside the country before they can be exported to other countries by the year 2014. This policy has drawn response from the government of Japan as one of the importing countries. Japan had threatened to report to the World Trade Organization regarding the issue because they complained that the policy violates the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. This study discusses how the policy is in the effort of Indonesia to develop its nation without any intention to harm any other countries. The justification of the enactment of the policy is mandated under the 1945 Constitution and the policy in essence does not deny the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The enactment of the policy has affected the raw minerals export activity in Indonesia when export activity reached its peak in 2013 and also the last year raw material export was allowed. The policy might also have impacts on Japanese mining industries which relies on the import of raw minerals from Indonesia and those having investments in Indonesian mining industries. Japan at the end cancelled its intention to report Indonesia to the World Trade Organization and agreed to solve the dispute through bilateral solutions.</p><p>BAHASA INDONESIA ABSTRAK: Pemerintah Indonesia memberlakukan kebijakan yang melarang ekspor mineral mentah pada tahun 2009 yang terwujud dalam Undang-Undang No. 04 Tahun 2009 tentang Pertambangan Mineral dan Batubara. Undang-Undang tersebut mengamanatkan pemrosesan mineral mentah di dalam negeri sebelum dapat diekspor ke negara lain mulai dari tahun 2014. Kebijakan ini telah menarik tanggapan dari pemerintah Jepang sebagai salah satu negara pengimpor. Jepang telah mengancam untuk melapor kepada Organisasi Perdagangan Dunia mengenai masalah ini karena mereka mengeluhkan bahwa kebijakan tersebut melanggar Persetujuan Umum tentang Tarif dan Perdagangan. Studi ini membahas bagaimana kebijakan tersebut adalah upaya Indonesia untuk mengembangkan negaranya tanpa ada niat untuk menyakiti negara lain. Pembenaran atas berlakunya kebijakan tersebut diamanatkan di bawah UUD 1945 dan pada intinya, kebijakan tersebut tidak menyalahi Persetujuan Umum tentang Tarif dan Pertambangan. Pemberlakuan kebijakan tersebut telah mempengaruhi aktivitas ekspor mineral mentah di Indonesia di mana kegiatan ekspor mineral mentah paling tinggi pada tahun 2013 yang merupakan tahun terakhir di mana mineral mentah diizinkan untuk diekspor. Kebijakan tersebut memiliki dampak yang mungkin terjadi bagi industri pertambangan Jepang yang mengandalkan impor mineral mentah dari Indonesia dan yang memiliki investasi di industri pertambangan Indonesia. Jepang pada akhirnya membatalkan niatnya untuk melaporkan Indonesia ke Organisasi Perdagangan Dunia dan sepakat untuk menyelesaikan perselisihan tersebut melalui solusi bilateral.</p>

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