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1 - The constitutionalisation of international trade law

from PART I - Constitutional issues in international trade regulation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2011

By
Klaus Armingeon ,
Karolina Milewicz ,
Simone Peter  and
Anne Peters
Edited by
Thomas Cottier  and
Panagiotis Delimatsis
Klaus Armingeon
Affiliation:
University of Bern, Switzerland
Karolina Milewicz
Affiliation:
University of Bern, Switzerland
Simone Peter
Affiliation:
University of Basel, Switzerland
Anne Peters
Affiliation:
University of Basel, Switzerland
Thomas Cottier
Affiliation:
World Trade Institute
Panagiotis Delimatsis
Affiliation:
Universiteit van Tilburg, The Netherlands
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Summary

KEY MESSAGES

∙ Empirical research lends support to the idea of a ‘multi-speed globe’ of differentiated (fragmented) constitutionalisation, rather than a fully-fledged integrative constitutional process. ‘Variable geometry’ on the global scale could acknowledge irreconcilable differences between nation states.

∙ A prominent candidate for one fragment of this variable global constitutionalisation is the World Trade Organization (WTO). Constitutionalisation of the WTO means an evolution from constitution to constitutionalism within this organisation.

∙ A core constitutional issue is the public interest. The concept of ‘public interest’ can be used in various ways. Exception and limitation clauses play an important role in the constitutionalist reconstruction of international law.

∙ The WTO is so far only modestly constitutionalised, but could and should be further constitutionalised. Further constitutionalisation of the WTO should comprise the following reforms: upgrading non-trade concerns such as the environment in the treaty language itself, liberalisation in trade sectors in which poor countries can compete, empowerment of individuals by enabling at least indirect participation in secondary law-making (parliamentary dimension) and dispute settlement (direct effect), streamlining of the decision-making and law-making processes by reviving the legally available options for majority voting and judicial review of WTO acts.

Introduction

Over the past sixty years, international law has developed from a narrow system of inter-state norms of coexistence into a broader and organised system of cooperation. One of the most essential developments has been the growing number of multilateral treaties designed not only to set in place legal frameworks but also to promote cooperation in an interdependent world.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Prospects of International Trade Regulation
From Fragmentation to Coherence
 , pp. 69 - 102
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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