This book examines the impact of international trade rules on the promotion and protection of human rights, and explains why human rights are an important mechanism for assessing the social justice impact of the international trading system. The core of the book contains an in-depth analysis of the impact of international trade law rules on the protection and promotion of human rights, emphasizing the significance of the jurisdictional context in which the human rights issues arise. Coercive measures that are taken by one country to protect and promote human rights in another country are...

The concept of state sovereignty is increasingly challenged by a proliferation of international economic instruments and major international economic institutions. Numerous States are re-examining and debating the extent to which they should cede control over their economic and social policies to achieve global economic efficiency in an interdependent world. International lawyers are seriously rethinking the subject of state sovereignty, in relation to the operation of the main international economic institutions, namely the WTO, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The...

The first accessible account of WTO rules relating to trade in digital content (e.g. movies, music, software), associated challenges and diverging negotiation positions in the Doha Round.

An in-depth analysis of the core legal concepts characterising the two most prominent efforts in the regulation of international trade.

This book examines the intersection of WTO trade liberalization rules and domestic health protection, a subject that is of considerable interest to those concerned that the WTO impinges on national regulatory autonomy. In analyzing the tension between health protection and trade liberalization, the book focuses on the way in which this tension is (or is not) resolved through the dispute resolution process. It offers a detailed analysis of the relevant WTO rules and case law, identifying particular concerns relating to the ability of WTO members to take protective action in circumstances of...

In a world of work that has changed dramatically over the last few years, states see themselves confronted with new actors and conflicting international legal obligations. This book examines the tensions between core labour rights as defined by the International Labour Organisation, and the interests of international economic institutions (e.g. WTO, IMF, World Bank, OECD). It provides an analysis of the legal interactions between international regulations and state policy with regard to potential regulatory conflicts, at both the horizontal and vertical level. The study suggests a model of...

This book is the first to account for what good faith stands for in international trade law. The book describes how, why, and when the concept of good faith links WTO Agreements with public international law. It serves as a reference guide for scholars and practitioners by analyzing how GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)/WTO dispute settlement institutions apply good faith in practice. Good faith is a general principle of law operating alongside treaties and customary rules. In WTO law, the principle of pacta sunt servanda, the prohibition of abus de droit, and the protection of...

The range of global challenges faced today - from economic integration to climate change and food security - has highlighted the need for effective international governance. The WTO plays a key role in the governance of world trade, which has grown almost 200% since the WTO's beginning. Moreover, the role of trade in driving international economic integration means that formerly domestic regulation, on issues as varied as human health and labelling standards, directly affect international trade and are increasingly subject to WTO rules. The scope of the WTO's power and role in international...

The accession of the People's Republic of China to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 significantly transformed global economic relations both de facto and de jure. At the regional level, China's WTO accession served as a catalyst for the juridification of economic relations in East Asia based on Regional Trade and Investment Agreements (RTAs). This was a novel development for the region, since East Asian states had previously followed a largely informal, market-based approach to regional economic integration, essentially limiting rules-based economic integration to the global level...

This book investigates patterns of fragmentation and coherence in the international regulatory architecture of public procurement. In the context of the major international instruments of procurement regulation, it studies the achievement of social and labour policies, the most controversial and problematic instrumental uses of public procurement practices. The work offers an innovative comparative approach, discussing the ways in which the different international instruments (namely the EU Procurement Directives, the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, the UNCITRAL Model Law, and the...