This volume assembles a stellar group of scholars and experts to examine preferential trade agreements (PTAs), a topic that has time and again attracted the interest of analysts. It presents a discussion of the evolving economic analysis regarding PTAs and the various dysfunctions that continually place them among the priority items for (re)negotiation by the WTO. The book explores recent empirical research that casts doubt on the old 'trade diversion' school and debates why the WTO should deal with PTAs and if PTAs belong under the mandate of the WTO as we now know it.

This book describes and examines three EU legal frameworks (EU competition law, EU consumer law, and EU fundamental rights law) that may affect the extent to which consumers purchase more sustainably. In doing so, this book goes beyond a rationalist understanding of the interpretation and application of EU law. Rational approaches have severely impacted the interpretation and application of EU law. Practice shows, however, that the implications of using a noncritical application of rationalist approaches in the interpretation and application of EU competition law, EU consumer law, and EU fundamental rights law to sustainability labels may have an inhibiting effect on sustainable consumption. The book offers remedies to overcome this inhibitive effect by critically applying insights from cognitive science and behavioral economics in the legal interpretation and application of EU law.

This book develops and applies the methodology of Tawhid ("monotheism") as law and the Sunnah (the teachings of Prophet Muhammad) in the Qur'an in establishing a transdisciplinary foundation for the study of Islamic economics, finance, society, and science. It employs the Tawhidi String Relation (TSR), a new theoretical framework in contemporary Islamic sciences, in the methodological formalisation and application of the Tawhidi worldview - as the primal ontological law of monotheism. It employs a deeply Qur'anic exegesis, and a mathematical, philosophical, and socio-scientific mode of inquiry in deriving, developing, and empirically applying the Qur'anic methodology of "unity of knowledge". It is the first book of its kind in rigorously studying the true foundation of the Qur'anic concept of 'everything' - as the world-system extending between the heavens and Earth. The qur'anic terminology of the precept of this "world-system" in its most comprehensive perspective is A'lameen, the terminology in the Qur'an that accounts for the generality and details of the world-systems that are governed by the method of evaluation of the objective criterion of wellbeing. Wellbeing objective criterion is evaluated subject to inter-causal relations between systemic entities, variables, and functions. The cardinal principle of Tawhid in its relationship with the world-system conveys the corporeal meaning of monotheism in its cognitive implication of abstraction and application. Such a study has not been undertaken in existing Islamic socio-scientific literature in analysing Islamic economics, finance, science, and society collectively, using Tawhidi law as a theoretical framework. This book will be relevant to all such scholars who are interested in studying the monotheistic law and the Islamic principles, particularly Tawhid, Shari'ah, and Islamic philosophical thought.

In recent years the European Union has developed a comprehensive strategy to conclude free trade agreements which includes not only prominent trade partners such as Canada, the United States and Japan but also numerous developing countries. This book looks at the existing WTO law and at the new EU free trade agreements with the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa through the lens of the human right to adequate food. It shows how the clauses on the import and export of food included in recent free trade agreements limit the capacity of these countries to implement food security policies and to respect their human rights obligations. This outcome appears to be at odds with international human rights law and dismissive of existing human rights references in EU-founding treaties as well as in treaties between the EU and developing states. Yet, the book argues against the conception in human rights literature that there is an inflexible agenda encoded in world trade law which is fundamentally conflictual with non-economic interests. The book puts forward the idea that the European Union is perfectly placed to develop a narrative of globalisation considering other areas of public international law when negotiating trade agreements and argues that the EU does have the competences and influence to uphold a role of international leadership in designing a sustainable global trading system. Will the EU be ambitious enough? A timely contribution to the growing academic literature on the relation between world trade law and international human rights law, this book imagines a central role for the EU in reconciling these two areas of international law.

The EEA Agreement extends the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital to the EEA/EFTA States: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. It provides for equal conditions of competition and abolishes discrimination on grounds of nationality in all 31 EEA States. The successful operation of the EEA depends upon a two-pillar system of supervision involving the European Commission and the EFTA Surveillance Authority. A two-pillar structure has also been established in respect of judicial control with the EFTA Court operating in parallel to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The EFTA Court, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2014, has jurisdiction with regard to EFTA States which are parties to the EEA Agreement. The jurisdiction of the EFTA Court accordingly corresponds to the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union over EU Member States in matters of EEA law. The essays in this collection, assembled to celebrate the 20 year landmark, and written by members of the Court and external experts, review the successes and shortcomings of the Court, its interface with EU law, and the prospects for its future development.

This authoritative collection demonstrates the increasing application of the law and economics methodology to the problems of developing countries. At the foundation of this application is the institutional approach to economic development, which emphasises the success or failure of key institutions in facilitating development. The impact on future research will be far-reaching and is expected to dominate the debate on development issues for a long time to come. There has been an outpouring of literature, both theoretical and empirical, that examines various facets of development from an institutional perspective and emphasises the crucial role played by the legal system in the economic development of nations. The editors have drawn together a careful selection of the key papers for inclusion in this volume, which will be an invaluable reference for lawyers, economists and development practitioners.

Published in 1997, in this book an attempt has been made to analyze the legal structure of GATT and the WTO as well as those agreements which control trade in textiles. One of the GATT's major failures was its inability to come into line with the new economic reality and the needs of those states who created this system for controlling international trade. Trade in textiles was an excellent example of this. Now, the WTO aims to overcome this problem thanks to its greater pragmatism and its search for solutions to free trade difficulties. The WTO is not, however, the perfect solution. Its highly political character allows room for improvement even though the key to its success still lies with the effective cooperation of member states. As for the textile sector, this new panorama for trade in goods provides it with a new opportunity to finally return to the general legal framework in the year 2005.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) recently celebrated twenty years of existence. The general wisdom is that its dispute settlement institutions work well and its negotiation machinery goes through a phase of prolonged crises. Assessing the World Trade Organization overcomes this myopic view and takes stock of the WTO's achievements whilst going beyond existing disciplinary narratives. With chapters written by scholars who have closely observed the development of the WTO in recent years, this book presents the state of the art in thinking about WTO performance. It also considers important issues such as the origins of the multilateral system, the accession process and the WTO's interaction with other international organisations. The contributions shed new light on untold stories, critically review and present existing scholarship, and sketch new research avenues for a future generation of trade scholars. This book will appeal to a wide audience that aims to better understand the drivers and obstacles of WTO performance.

To reflect the need for increasing expertise in a highly complex legal arena, the Conseil International du Batiment pour la Recherche L'Etude et la Documentation (CIB) inaugurated an international task force, TG15, to study the area of construction disputes around the world, which now has more than 120 members in 30 countries. Drawing from an international expert author based from the CIB taskforce, and edited by coordinators of TG15, experts representing both the legal and construction professions, this book aims to provide a first reference for those considering, or already, working in the international workplace. Each of the 25 national monographs report on construction dispute practice and procedure according to a standard format, providing the reader with the necessary tools for managing conflicts and resolving disputes on construction projects in different countries.

Every year, states negotiate, conclude, sign, and give effect to hundreds of new international agreements. Koremenos argues that the detailed design provisions of such agreements matter for phenomena that scholars, policymakers, and the public care about: when and how international cooperation occurs and is maintained. Theoretically, Koremenos develops hypotheses regarding how cooperation problems like incentives to cheat can be confronted and moderated through law's detailed design provisions. Empirically, she exploits her data set composed of a random sample of international agreements in economics, the environment, human rights and security. Her theory and testing lead to a consequential discovery: considering the vagaries of international politics, international cooperation looks more law-like than anarchical, with the detailed provisions of international law chosen in ways that increase the prospects and robustness of cooperation. This nuanced and sophisticated 'continent of international law' can speak to scholars in any discipline where institutions, and thus institutional design, matter.

World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade remedies (antidumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard agreements) are instruments used by WTO members to counter the economic injury caused by dumping, subsidies and the sudden and unforeseen increased imports. They are exceptions to the WTO principle of free trade and to the prohibition for States to react unilaterally to protect their own rights and interests, and as a result they have been accused by some as being the new tools of protectionism. This book analyses of the role and principles of WTO trade remedies in international law. In particular, it focuses on their aims, their structure, and their position within the WTO and more in general, the international legal system. The book considers trade remedies in light of fragmentation theories of international law and addresses the question how, and to what extent WTO law reflects and influences public international law.

In 2014, the global economic system celebrates two anniversaries: Seventy years ago, on 22 July 1944 at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Articles of Agreement of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (Worldbank) were adopted. Since then the global financial and monetary system underwent significant policy changes, but the institutional framework remained the same. More recently, twenty years ago, on 15 April 1994, the Final Act of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations was signed and its key component, the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization, entered into force on 1 January 1995. Even though the beginning of the multilateral trading system dates back to the late 1940s, the founding of the WTO constitutes a significant institutional reform which marks the beginning of a new era. Anniversaries are usually moments of celebration. However, even a superficial observer will notice that neither the current international financial and monetary regime nor the international trade regime is in a stage which invites celebration. Instead, both are facing difficult and fundamental challenges to their very existence from the outside but also from within. So while there may be no time to celebrate, anniversaries are also often used for reflection about the past and the future. Hence, EYIEL 5 (2014) considers these two anniversaries ample moments to reflect on the legacy and the current status of the main two pillars of International Economic Law in its Part one. Part two of EYIEL 5 (2014) brings together contributions on the EU's Deep Trade Agenda, on Current Approaches to the International Investment Regime in South America, on the Multilayered System of Regional Economic Integration in West Africa and on the Tripartite Free Trade Area, as well as on India and her Trade Agreements. Part three contains treatises of developments in the World Customs Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization and in International Investment Law. After the book reviews in Part four, EYIEL 5 (2014) is complemented with an Annex containing the Case (on exchange-rate manipulation and crisis-caused guarantees to financial institutions) and the Best Submissions of the 11th EMC2 ELSA WTO Moot Court Competition (of the Harvard team for the complainant and the Leuven team for the respondent). The case not only addresses issues of current interest but also links the subjects of our two special focusses nicely together.

Patents, including pharmaceutical patents, enjoy extended protection for twenty years under the TRIPs Agreement. The Agreement has resulted in creating a two-tier system of the World Trade Organisation Member States, and its implementation has seen the price of pharmaceutical products skyrocket, putting essential medicines beyond the reach of the common man. The hardest hit populations come from the developing and least developed countries, which have either a weak healthcare system or no healthcare at all, where access to essential and affordable medicines is extremely difficult to achieve. Pharmaceutical Patent Protection and World Trade Law studies the problems faced by these countries in obtaining access to affordable medicines for their citizens in light of the TRIPS Agreement. It explores the opportunities that are still open for some developing countries to utilise the flexibilities available under the TRIPS Agreement in order to mitigate the damage caused by it. The book also examines the interrelationship between the world governing bodies, and the right to health contained in some of the developing country's national constitutions.

This book provides a detailed analysis of the legal framework in which the energy trade between the European Union and the Russian Federation has been conducted. Using case studies of eight member states, it critically examines the EU's ability and the duty of its Member States to conduct their external energy trade in accordance with the principle of solidarity. Providing a comprehensive analysis of the principle of solidarity as provided in the acquis communautaire of the EU, the book critically analyses the legal framework pertaining to EU-Russia energy trade to ascertain whether, and to what extent, it satisfies the requirements of the rule of law.

EU services law is an emerging area of scholarship of great practical importance. This book is the first major contribution to the analysis and the development of the right to provide services. It is authoritative and represents different views on many of the pressing problems of the area.

This book focuses on the enforcement aspect of tobacco control policy, and argues that the intense regulation of the tobacco market will never be successful as long as it can be circumvented by the availability of illicit tobacco products. Yet, current efforts to combat illicit tobacco trade are insufficient, suffering from several flaws and gaps at the regulatory and operational levels. The aim of this book is to provide an analysis of the legal framework and practice of enforcement with regard to illicit tobacco products. Combining criminological and legal perspectives, it presents and critically analyses the phenomenon of illicit tobacco trade, as well as the policies, legal frameworks and practices in six EU countries with regard to combatting this phenomenon, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of their approaches. Furthermore, it studies the relationship between the EU and third countries (e.g. Ukraine) in terms of how the EU can influence policy and enforcement in these countries in order to counter illicit tobacco trafficking. Not exclusively focusing on the EU, the book also includes an analysis of enforcement against illicit tobacco products in the US. The EU Member States analysed in the book (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands and Poland) reflect the range of currently available approaches. Some of them have ratified the WHO Protocol against tobacco smuggling; others have not. They belong to different legal traditions and face different challenges due to their respective border situations. While Belgium and the Netherlands are key entry ports to the EU, Poland and Latvia represent the Eastern land border of the EU, with various regional challenges. Italy has a long maritime border, where trafficking is possible from Northern Africa and from the Middle East. It also has significant experience in fighting organised crime. Lastly, Germany is the largest market in Europe and situated in the middle of these trafficking routes.

Knowledge commons facilitate voluntary private interactions in markets and societies. These shared pools of knowledge consist of intellectual and legal infrastructures that both enable and constrain private initiatives. This volume brings together theoretical and empirical approaches that develop and apply the Governing Knowledge Commons framework to the evolution of various kinds of shared knowledge structures that underpin exchanges of goods, services, and ideas. Chapters offer vivid and illuminating case studies that illustrate this conceptual framework. How did pooling scientific knowledge enable the Industrial Revolution? How do social networks underpin the credit system enabling the Agra footwear market? How did the market category Scotch whisky emerge and who has access to it? What is the potential of blockchain-ledgers as shared knowledge repositories? This volume demonstrates the importance of shared knowledge in modern society.

This monograph has two central purposes. The first is to provide a critical analysis of how governmental, private and hybrid product standards are regulated in the GATT/WTO legal framework. The second purpose is to explore - both positively and normatively - the impact that WTO disciplines may have on the composition, function and decision-making process of various standard-setting bodies through the lens of a series of selected case studies, including: the EU eco-labelling scheme; ISO standards; and private standards such as the FSC. The book analyses what role, if any, the WTO may play in making product standards applied in international trade embody not only technological superiority but also substantive and procedural fairness such as deliberation, representativeness, openness, transparency, due process and accountability. Whilst it has been long recognised that voluntary product standards drawn up by both governmental and non-governmental bodies can in practice create trade barriers as serious as mandatory governmental regulations, a rigorous and systematic inquiry into the boundary, relevance and impact of WTO disciplines on product standards is still lacking. Providing a lucid interpretation of the relevant WTO rules and cases on product standards, this book fills this significant gap in WTO law literature. Definitive and comprehensive, this is an essential reference work for scholars and practitioners alike.

The advent of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 transformed international economic law for states, enterprises, and nongovernmental organizations. This book analyzes how the WTO is changing the path of international trade law and examines the implications of these trends for the world economy and the global environment. Containing 18 essays published from 1999 to 2011, the book illuminates several of the most complex issues in contemporary trade policy. Among the topics covered are: Is there a normative theory of the WTO's purpose? Can constitutional theory provide guidance to keep the WTO's levers in balance? Should the WTO use trade sanctions for enforcement? What can the WTO do to enhance sustainable development and job creation?

Originally published in 1996. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is one of the most effective multilateral environmental agreements currently in existence. Established to control the production and consumption of CFCs and other ozone-depleting chemicals, the Protocol is an important example of an agreement which places restrictions on international trade in the interests of the global environmental - a feature which may become common in future treaties. This report examines the development, effectiveness and future of the trade provisions of the ozone regime, concluding that they have contributed significantly to its success in attracting signatories and in limiting ozone depletion. Issues considered include the compatibility of the trade provisions and the GATT, trade restrictions and developing countries, and the new problems of non-compliance and illegal trade in CFCs.

This book, first published in 1888 and reprinted in 1974, offers a history of US protective tariffs and their consequences for that country's international trade, particularly with Great Britain. Its aim was to present to the reader the arguments for and against the opposing principles of protection and free trade, and in this it is successful - the book is a comprehensive analysis of the issue, seen from a time when the debate was perhaps at its most intense.

This book studies the international investment law regime in Africa and provides a comprehensive analysis of the current treaty practices in Africa from global, regional and domestic perspectives. It develops a public interest regulation theory to highlight the role of investment regulation in sustainable development and the protection of human rights. In doing so, the book identifies seven factors that should be considered by arbitrators in resolving international investment disputes that affect the public interest. It considers how corporations can be held accountable through investment treaties in the absence of a global treaty on business and human rights while protecting the rights of investors and their investments. Furthermore, the book explores the current objectives and features of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) as well as the deficiencies and its intersection with the rule of law. It identifies alternatives for ISDS and the extent to which these alternatives address the objectives of attracting investment, depoliticise investment disputes, promote the rule of law and offer remedies to investors. These solutions are offered in relation to the protection of human rights, the promotion of sustainable development and the right of states to introduce domestic public interest regulation. Finally, the book takes a prospective stance and discusses future trends for dispute settlement and investment rulemaking in Africa.

The Dispute Settlement Reports of the World Trade Organization (WTO) include Panel and Appellate Body reports, as well as arbitration awards, in disputes concerning the rights and obligations of WTO members under the provisions of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization. These are the WTO authorized and paginated reports in English. An essential addition to the library of all practising and academic trade lawyers, and needed by students worldwide taking courses in international economic or trade law. DSR 2003: II reports on the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 (US), and contains a cumulative index of published disputes.

With the accession of Afghanistan in 2016, the World Trade Organization (WTO) numbered 164 members with nineteen other states in line to join. The WTO is certainly not alone in its growth though; the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the European Union (EU) are all expanding with dozens of states continuing to negotiate their potential membership. What impact does membership in international organizations really have? Why do some states have a seemingly easy path to joining international organizations while others find the process nearly impossible? What implications do these difficult accession processes have on the domestic and international politics of the acceding states? The author presents the two-level theory of accession, which highlights factors at the domestic level and international organization level, to explain how accession processes in the WTO and EU vary from state to state and the impact of these variations. In so doing, this book provides a unique perspective on the topic of membership in international organizations.

This book attempts to reconcile the concept of free trade with a key non-trade social value - cultural diversity - in an era of economic globalisation. It first shows how we can look at culture in many different ways, and explains why we should care about cultural diversity. The book then examines the challenges that policymakers are faced with in formulating cultural measures in the new media environment, and analyses UNESCO's theories and approaches to cultural diversity. This is followed by a comprehensive examination of the treatment of 'culture' in global and regional trade agreements, including the framework of the GATT/WTO system, the WTO's judicial practice involving cultural products, and the treatment of culture under the EC/EU and NAFTA. This identifies the challenges trade norms encounter in dealing with cultural products. The author seeks to formulate a balanced view of the challenge of protecting and promoting cultural diversity while also recognising the important goal of trade liberalisation. To this end Professor Shi proposes a dual method through which the norms found in WTO agreements and in UNESCO cultural instruments may be brought into alignment: the first highlighting the compatibility of cultural policy measures with trade obligations on a domestic level, the second suggesting potential linkages between the WTO rules and the UNESCO Convention from the perspectives of treaty interpretation.