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NYU Law Review, 2011

This paper seeks to describe the legal system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by analyzing ... more This paper seeks to describe the legal system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by analyzing the extent to which countries that are members of the WTO can contract out of WTO obligations. The current literature on the WTO provides two primary models through which we can understand the WTO's legal regime: a constitutional model and a contractual model. The constitutional model sees the WTO as a legal system that cannot be easily varied by individual WTO members because WTO commitments are made to all members. Alternatively, the contractual model describes WTO obligations as easily variable by subsets of members, since WTO commitments are made only on a bilateral (country-to-country) basis. This paper addresses that debate by looking at the ability of WTO members to contract out of WTO obligations through bilateral and regional trade agreements, whereby two or more members define the trade rules governing their relationship outside of the WTO legal regime. WTO law governing regional trade agreements reveals that, on the one hand, member states cannot contract out of all WTO obligations; certain core obligations cannot be varied. However, there remains significant scope for contracting out through regional trade agreements on most subjects. Therefore, both the constitutional and contractual models are insufficient and do not accurately describe the nature of WTO obligations.

Book chapters by Joanna Langille

Peer reviewed chapter in Peter Sankoff, Vaughan Black, & Katie Sykes, eds., Canadian Perspectives... more Peer reviewed chapter in Peter Sankoff, Vaughan Black, & Katie Sykes, eds., Canadian Perspectives on Animals and the Law (Toronto, ON: Irwin Law, 2015).

Online publications by Joanna Langille

Op Eds by Joanna Langille

Blog posts by Joanna Langille

Papers by Joanna Langille

The Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, 2018

"Among the most enduring debates in international trade law is how should we understand the ... more "Among the most enduring debates in international trade law is how should we understand the legal1 relationship between the multilateral trading system, as established by the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and preferential trade agreements (PTAs). This debate is generated by a fundamental conflict between the WTO’s central legal obligation of nondiscrimination, which requires WTO Member states to accord equal treatment to the goods and services of other Member states, and PTAs, which by definition allow Member states to accord more favorable market access to some trading partners while excluding others. If PTAs “entrench the very discrimination that WTO rules seek to eliminate,” how should the legal relationship between them be understood?"

This Note seeks to describe the legal system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by analyzing t... more This Note seeks to describe the legal system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by analyzing the extent to which countries that are members of the WTO can contract out of WTO obligations. The current literature on the WTO provides two primary models through which we can understand the WTO’s legal regime: a constitutional model and a contractual model. The constitutional model sees the WTO as a legal system that cannot be easily varied by individual WTO members because WTO commitments are made to all members. Alternatively, the contractual model describes WTO obligations as easily variable by subsets of members, since WTO commitments are made only on a bilateral (country-to-country) basis. This Note addresses that debate by looking at the ability of WTO members to contract out of WTO obligations through bilateral and regional trade agreements, whereby two or more members define the trade rules governing their relationship outside of the WTO legal regime. WTO law governing regional...

The AB's decision answers some questions that had been left open by the prior Panel decision ... more The AB's decision answers some questions that had been left open by the prior Panel decision in this case (although some doctrinal ambiguity remains, as we discuss below). The decision sets out important new doctrine on de facto discrimination under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT)[3] Articles I:1 (Most-Favored Nation) and III:4 (National Treatment). It also confirms that animal welfare is an aspect of public morals under GATT Article XX(a).

Revue internationale du Travail, 2020

'auteure adresse ses sincères remerciements à Adelle Blackett, Rob Howse, Brian Langille et Ryan ... more 'auteure adresse ses sincères remerciements à Adelle Blackett, Rob Howse, Brian Langille et Ryan Liss, qui l'ont aidée à développer les idées présentées dans cet article, ainsi qu'à Chi Carmody, Alvaro Santos et Corinne Vargha, aux trois relecteurs anonymes qui ont examiné son manuscrit, ainsi qu'à ses divers interlocuteurs au sein des facultés de droit de l'Université McGill et de l'Université Western Ontario de leurs remarques précieuses sur des versions préliminaires du présent texte. Les articles paraissant dans la Revue internationale du Travail n'engagent que leurs auteurs, et leur publication ne signifie pas que le BIT souscrit aux opinions qui y sont exprimées.

Revista Internacional del Trabajo, 2020

Los Acuerdos de la Organizacion Mundial del Comercio (OMC) pueden limitar la capacidad de sus Est... more Los Acuerdos de la Organizacion Mundial del Comercio (OMC) pueden limitar la capacidad de sus Estados Miembros para reaccionar ante violaciones de los derechos y normas (internacionales) del trabajo tanto en su territorio como en el extranjero. Se expone aqui como el Organo de Apelacion de la OMC ha interpretado esos Acuerdos con un enfoque «pluralista», preservando el derecho de los Miembros a legislar, ampliando el alcance de las excepciones generales y atenuando los efectos desreguladores de ciertas disposiciones. Numerosas medidas de proteccion del trabajo podrian pues ser compatibles con las obligaciones de no discriminacion del derecho mercantil internacional.

International Labour Review, 2020

My sincere thanks to Adelle Blackett, Rob Howse, Brian Langille, and Ryan Liss for their help dev... more My sincere thanks to Adelle Blackett, Rob Howse, Brian Langille, and Ryan Liss for their help developing the ideas in this paper; and to Chi Carmody, Alvaro Santos, Corrine Vargha, three anonymous reviewers, and audiences at McGill University Faculty of Law and the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law for their helpful comments on drafts of this piece. Responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the ILO.

American Journal of International Law

The World Trade Organization is at an important institutional crossroads, buffeted by critique an... more The World Trade Organization is at an important institutional crossroads, buffeted by critique and with its once-heralded dispute system in doubt. Despite some achievements at the 2022 MC12 Ministerial Conference, the WTO appears in crisis, without a strong institutional mandate. In this Article, we offer a vision for its future, rooted in a particular interpretation of its past. The WTO's legal architecture is characterized by a resilient pluralism, which seeks to preserve diversity of governance models and regulatory approaches, both economic and political, in the domestic orders of member states. Despite strong pressures to impose a neoliberal vision of the state-market relationship on states, this pluralism has persevered; it offers a response to the WTO's critics and a mandate for the WTO's future.

NYU Law Review, 2011

This paper seeks to describe the legal system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by analyzing ... more This paper seeks to describe the legal system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by analyzing the extent to which countries that are members of the WTO can contract out of WTO obligations. The current literature on the WTO provides two primary models through which we can understand the WTO's legal regime: a constitutional model and a contractual model. The constitutional model sees the WTO as a legal system that cannot be easily varied by individual WTO members because WTO commitments are made to all members. Alternatively, the contractual model describes WTO obligations as easily variable by subsets of members, since WTO commitments are made only on a bilateral (country-to-country) basis. This paper addresses that debate by looking at the ability of WTO members to contract out of WTO obligations through bilateral and regional trade agreements, whereby two or more members define the trade rules governing their relationship outside of the WTO legal regime. WTO law governing regional trade agreements reveals that, on the one hand, member states cannot contract out of all WTO obligations; certain core obligations cannot be varied. However, there remains significant scope for contracting out through regional trade agreements on most subjects. Therefore, both the constitutional and contractual models are insufficient and do not accurately describe the nature of WTO obligations.

Peer reviewed chapter in Peter Sankoff, Vaughan Black, & Katie Sykes, eds., Canadian Perspectives... more Peer reviewed chapter in Peter Sankoff, Vaughan Black, & Katie Sykes, eds., Canadian Perspectives on Animals and the Law (Toronto, ON: Irwin Law, 2015).

The Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, 2018

"Among the most enduring debates in international trade law is how should we understand the ... more "Among the most enduring debates in international trade law is how should we understand the legal1 relationship between the multilateral trading system, as established by the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and preferential trade agreements (PTAs). This debate is generated by a fundamental conflict between the WTO’s central legal obligation of nondiscrimination, which requires WTO Member states to accord equal treatment to the goods and services of other Member states, and PTAs, which by definition allow Member states to accord more favorable market access to some trading partners while excluding others. If PTAs “entrench the very discrimination that WTO rules seek to eliminate,” how should the legal relationship between them be understood?"

This Note seeks to describe the legal system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by analyzing t... more This Note seeks to describe the legal system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by analyzing the extent to which countries that are members of the WTO can contract out of WTO obligations. The current literature on the WTO provides two primary models through which we can understand the WTO’s legal regime: a constitutional model and a contractual model. The constitutional model sees the WTO as a legal system that cannot be easily varied by individual WTO members because WTO commitments are made to all members. Alternatively, the contractual model describes WTO obligations as easily variable by subsets of members, since WTO commitments are made only on a bilateral (country-to-country) basis. This Note addresses that debate by looking at the ability of WTO members to contract out of WTO obligations through bilateral and regional trade agreements, whereby two or more members define the trade rules governing their relationship outside of the WTO legal regime. WTO law governing regional...

The AB's decision answers some questions that had been left open by the prior Panel decision ... more The AB's decision answers some questions that had been left open by the prior Panel decision in this case (although some doctrinal ambiguity remains, as we discuss below). The decision sets out important new doctrine on de facto discrimination under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT)[3] Articles I:1 (Most-Favored Nation) and III:4 (National Treatment). It also confirms that animal welfare is an aspect of public morals under GATT Article XX(a).

Revue internationale du Travail, 2020

'auteure adresse ses sincères remerciements à Adelle Blackett, Rob Howse, Brian Langille et Ryan ... more 'auteure adresse ses sincères remerciements à Adelle Blackett, Rob Howse, Brian Langille et Ryan Liss, qui l'ont aidée à développer les idées présentées dans cet article, ainsi qu'à Chi Carmody, Alvaro Santos et Corinne Vargha, aux trois relecteurs anonymes qui ont examiné son manuscrit, ainsi qu'à ses divers interlocuteurs au sein des facultés de droit de l'Université McGill et de l'Université Western Ontario de leurs remarques précieuses sur des versions préliminaires du présent texte. Les articles paraissant dans la Revue internationale du Travail n'engagent que leurs auteurs, et leur publication ne signifie pas que le BIT souscrit aux opinions qui y sont exprimées.

Revista Internacional del Trabajo, 2020

Los Acuerdos de la Organizacion Mundial del Comercio (OMC) pueden limitar la capacidad de sus Est... more Los Acuerdos de la Organizacion Mundial del Comercio (OMC) pueden limitar la capacidad de sus Estados Miembros para reaccionar ante violaciones de los derechos y normas (internacionales) del trabajo tanto en su territorio como en el extranjero. Se expone aqui como el Organo de Apelacion de la OMC ha interpretado esos Acuerdos con un enfoque «pluralista», preservando el derecho de los Miembros a legislar, ampliando el alcance de las excepciones generales y atenuando los efectos desreguladores de ciertas disposiciones. Numerosas medidas de proteccion del trabajo podrian pues ser compatibles con las obligaciones de no discriminacion del derecho mercantil internacional.

International Labour Review, 2020

My sincere thanks to Adelle Blackett, Rob Howse, Brian Langille, and Ryan Liss for their help dev... more My sincere thanks to Adelle Blackett, Rob Howse, Brian Langille, and Ryan Liss for their help developing the ideas in this paper; and to Chi Carmody, Alvaro Santos, Corrine Vargha, three anonymous reviewers, and audiences at McGill University Faculty of Law and the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law for their helpful comments on drafts of this piece. Responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the ILO.

American Journal of International Law

The World Trade Organization is at an important institutional crossroads, buffeted by critique an... more The World Trade Organization is at an important institutional crossroads, buffeted by critique and with its once-heralded dispute system in doubt. Despite some achievements at the 2022 MC12 Ministerial Conference, the WTO appears in crisis, without a strong institutional mandate. In this Article, we offer a vision for its future, rooted in a particular interpretation of its past. The WTO's legal architecture is characterized by a resilient pluralism, which seeks to preserve diversity of governance models and regulatory approaches, both economic and political, in the domestic orders of member states. Despite strong pressures to impose a neoliberal vision of the state-market relationship on states, this pluralism has persevered; it offers a response to the WTO's critics and a mandate for the WTO's future.

University of Toronto Law Journal

The public policy exception is a notorious part of choice of law doctrine. The exception allows c... more The public policy exception is a notorious part of choice of law doctrine. The exception allows courts to refuse to apply foreign law selected by first-order choice of law rules that violates the forum’s fundamental principles of morality and justice. As a doctrinal matter, public policy is a well-established part of the architecture of choice of law. But scholars have struggled to understand why it should be part of choice of law doctrine, given the normative structure of the field; how to differentiate between the fundamental and non-fundamental norms that inform its use; and how to understand the leading public policy cases in a coherent way. In this Article, I offer a solution to these three problems. I argue we should reconceptualize the exception as a means by which courts can analyze the substance of foreign law to ensure that it complies with the rule of law, and thus can be applied ‘as a law’ in the forum. More specifically, public policy is how common law courts ensure tha...