Dispute Settlement Mechanisms and Power Asymmetry in Regional Trade Agreements

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoo-Sun Jung
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Regional Trade Agreements ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Power Asymmetry ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanisms

scholarly journals The Two Noble Kinsmen: Internal and Legal Transparency in the WTO and Their Connection to Preferential and Regional Trade Agreements

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 539-569
Author(s):  
Maria Panezi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Regional Trade Agreements ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Institutional Processes ◽  
Multilateral Trading System ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The proliferation of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) has given rise to significant debate on the need to measure, understand and possibly regulate the impact these agreements have on the multilateral trading system under the umbrella of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This article will discuss the two Doha Transparency Mechanisms (legal transparency) regarding regional trade agreements, as they appear in two General Council decisions from 2006 and 2010. I will argue based on a closer look and a consistent interpretation of Paragraph 10 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration that there is another type of transparency that is relevant to the discussion on PTAs/RTAs, namely “internal transparency.” “Internal transparency stricto sensu” highlights the significance of trust in the WTO institutional processes, such as negotiations, decision-making, dispute settlement and trade monitoring that the representatives of developing member states should have in order for the WTO system to function productively. “Internal transparency lato sensu” is introduced in this article as an extension to include any decision-making deficits, exclusionary and asymmetrical outcomes specifically in the area of unchecked Preferential Trade Agreement proliferation. Instead of a conclusion, the article offers some proposals for more a meaningful progress in the WTO with respect to PTAs/RTAs The proposals aim at raising the profile of both legal and internal of transparency and posit that raising the profile of one will inevitably lead in improvements in the other.

Mapping the Scope of Dispute Settlement in Regional Trade Agreements: Implications for the Multilateral Governance of Trade

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARC D. FROESE
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Regional Trade Agreements ◽  
Settlement System ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Accurate Picture ◽  
The World ◽  
Dispute Settlement System ◽  
Settlement Of Disputes

AbstractThis article argues that the inclusion of provisions for the settlement of disputes in regional trade agreements enhances, rather than disrupts, the centrality of the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement system. Using a dataset that organizes exclusion clauses and special provisions for dispute settlement in regional trade agreements, the study develops a thematic typology that is used to examine the ways that disputes may be channelled between regional and multilateral dispute settlement institutions. This comparative empirical dimension offers a more accurate picture of the global contours of regionalization as they relate to the juridical aspects of trade governance, suggesting that the decentralization of dispute settlement inferred by the rapid development of regional bodies has been overstated.

When the Multilateral Meets the Regionals: Regional Trade Agreements at WTO Dispute Settlement

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHELLE Q. ZANG
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Regional Trade Agreements ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Trading System ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
Wto Dispute Settlement ◽  
Multilateral Trading System ◽  
The One

AbstractInteraction between regional trade agreements (RTAs) and the multilateral trading system established by the World Trade Organization (WTO) is an issue of significance but nevertheless remains unsettled. This article aims to explore the influence RTAs have generated had on the WTO system, with particular focus on the approach adopted by the adjudicators when dealing with irreconcilable RTA–WTO conflicts. During the development of 20 years’ jurisprudence, WTO adjudicators offered responses to a number of critical questions. On the one hand, direct endorsement of RTA provisions with the effect of prevailing over the counterpart WTO rules appears to be very difficult, either through legal interpretation or application. On the other hand, unlike often being argued, a close review of WTO case law does not reveal a biased adjudicatory approach against regionalism, as compared to other sources of public international law. When dealing with RTA-related matters, the Appellate Body has been advocating an all-encompassing approach featured by the emphasis on the common intention during the interpretative exercise and the promotion for the WTO built-in mechanisms for valid modification. Such an approach is, to a certain extent, misleading in the RTA –WTO context and has led to certain ill-founded adjudicatory choice.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document