The Development of the WTO – Remarks on the Sutherland Report (original) (raw)
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In academic literature the WTO is largely viewed as synonymous with its novel system for the settlement of disputes. We seek to demonstrate in this article that there is more to the WTO than this, and to exemplify this claim by reference to two specifi c sites of non-judicial governance in the WTO. We suggest that these two WTO committees perform important functions which are largely hidden from view. In particular, we point to the role that they play in generating and disseminating information, and as facilitators of technical assistance and regulatory learning. We also suggest that these committees contribute to the emergence of interpretive communities which serve to elaborate upon the open-ended norms laid down in the relevant agreements. Having surveyed the activities of these two sites of non-judicial governance in the WTO, we then situate them in the context of three contemporary narratives of global governance (transgovernmental networks, global administrative law, and managerialism), and use these as a way of critically evaluating the developments we describe. It is our view that the material that we have uncovered in relation to these two examples is suffi ciently rich to justify further research in this domain. , and WTO Docs S/L/1 and S/C/M/1, at paras 6 -7. Although there has been a proposal to create at least one other sectoral committee, this remains the only one so far. 5 See WTO Docs S/L/16, S/CSC/M/1. 578 EJIL 20 (2009), 575-614
WTO: The Evolution of the Non-discrimination Principle
This dissertation thesis is a result of my long-term research and activity in the field of international trade regulation which started during my magister and doctoral studies at the Masaryk University in Czech Republic. I was able to further deepen my knowledge and also obtain practical experience during my stay with the Czech Permanent Mission in Geneva in 2008 and 2009. Additionally, the Master of International Law and Economics (MILE) 2008/2009 hosted by the World Trade Institute in Bern also certainly made a great contribution. My expectations from that program were more than fulfilled and while studying in Bern I could open my eyes, enormously deepen my knowledge and start to really understand many aspects of international trade relations. I particularly appreciate the elements of that program that expanded my understanding of the economic underpinnings of the international commercial system. It helped me to better analyze some trade policies and features I had already observed in the past. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the dean of our faculty prof. JUDr. Naděžda Rozehnalová, CSc. She is the person who initially introduced me to the issue of international trade relations heralded by WTO and hereby formed my further research and field of interest.
The WTO Decision-Making Process: Problems and Possible Solutions
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012
The WTO has become one of the key international organisations responsible for regulating international economic relations among states. At first glance, the WTO Agreement makes very democratic provisions with respect to decision-making. All formal WTO decisionmaking organs are open to all members. Independent of population size, economic might or contribution to international trade, each member of the WTO wields a single unweighted vote-i.e. one-member-one-vote. Thus at the formal level, all appears to bode well with the WTO decision-making process. This seeming well-being however belies the true nature of the problems and challenges the decision-making process is encumbered with. The article undertakes a descriptive and analytical exegesis of the provisions on decision-making in Articles IX and X of the WTO Agreement. The article is segmented into three main sections. The first section presents a descriptive account of the WTO as an international organisation and the textual provisions on decision-making contained under Articles IX and X of the WTO Agreement. The focus here is to explore the formal provisions on 'legislative' decisionmaking by the two most important decision-making organs of the WTO-i.e. the Ministerial Conference and the General Council. The second section presents a critical analysis of the WTO decision-making process with particular emphasis on the problems, challenges and opportunities that the consensus and single undertaking principles and the Green Room process hold for the WTO. The concluding section explores possible options for reforming the WTO decision-making process. The importance of the principles of sovereign equality of states and the special and differential treatment of developing countries are used in both the second and third sections as key considerations in the discourse on the challenges and possible reform of the WTO decision-making process. General Overview of the WTO The Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organisation (WTO Agreement) ushered in a new multilateral trade organisation that replaced the GATT 1947, after the latter had been in operation for almost 50 years. The Uruguay Round of trade negotiations that culminated in the formation of the WTO started off in 1986 as a multilateral trade Round aimed at reforming the GATT 1947. 1 The establishment of a new trade organisation was not on the agenda at the inception of the Uruguay Round. 2 The idea of a new trade organisation was mooted by the EC and Canada in 1990 and in 1991 by the EC, Canada and Mexico. 3 The proposal for a new trade organisation initially faced opposition from the US and developing countries but by 1993, opposition to its establishment had waned and developing countries and the US had agreed to the establishment of the WTO. 4 Negotiations on the WTO were completed in December 1993 and in April 1994, the signatory states ratified the WTO