Peter Van den Bossche - The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization: Text, Cases, and Materials

The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization

Text, Cases, and Materials

Fifth Edition

Since the publication of its first edition, this textbook has been the prime choice of teachers and students alike, due to its clear and detailed explanation of the basic principles of the multilateral trading system and the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The fifth edition continues to explore the institutional and substantive law of the WTO. It has been updated to incorporate all new developments in the WTOs ever-growing body of case law. Moreover, each chapter now includes a Further Reading section to encourage and facilitate research and discussion on the topics addressed. As in previous editions, each chapter also features a summary to reinforce learning. Questions, assignments, and exercises on WTO law and policy are contained in an online supplement, updated regularly and available on the website of Cambridge University Press (www.cambridge.org/vandenbossche5). The questions and assignments allow students to assess their understanding while the exercises, reflecting real-life trade problems, challenge students (as well as practitioners) and enable them to hone their analytical skills. This textbook is an essential tool for all WTO law students and will also serve as a practitioners introductory guide to the WTO.

Peter Van den Bossche was a member of the Appellate Body of the WTO from 2009 to 2019, and served as its Chair in 2015. He is currently Director of Studies and Professor of International Economic Law at the World Trade Institute of the University of Bern, Switzerland. He serves as President of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL) and is Editor of the World Trade Review . He is a visiting professor at the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium; Maastricht University, the Netherlands; the LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy; and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador. From 1997 to 2001, he was Counsellor at the Appellate Body Secretariat, and in 2001, served as Acting Director of the Secretariat. In the early 1990s, he worked as a rfrendaire at the European Court of Justice. Peter Van den Bossche is the author (with Denise Prvost) of Essentials of WTO Law , 2nd edition (2021).

Werner Zdouc was Director of the WTO Appellate Body Secretariat from 2006 to 2020. He is currently Director of the Knowledge and Information Management, Academic Outreach, and WTO Chairs Programme Division of the WTO. Dr Zdouc joined the WTO Legal Affairs Division in 1995 and the Appellate Body Secretariat in 2001. In 2008 to 2009, he chaired the WTO Joint Advisory Committee to the Director-General. He has been a lecturer and visiting professor at Vienna Economic University; the Universities of St Gallen, Zurich, Barcelona, and Yokohama; at Seoul National University; Fudan University Shanghai; the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratization in Venice; and the Geneva Graduate Institute. He is a member of the International Law Association. From 1987 to 1989, he worked for governmental and nongovernmental development aid organisations in Austria and Latin America.

Contents

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Preface

Three years have passed since the publication of the fourth edition of this book. During this time, the world of international trade law and policy has changed beyond recognition. In these times of populist anti-globalism, economic nationalism, a global health crisis, and superpower geopolitical confrontation, the multilateral trading system and its principal institution, the WTO, are in crisis. The fifth edition of this book has been updated and revised to reflect the developments in WTO law and policy up to 1 October 2020, with an occasional reference to later developments. This edition is, as the prevous edition, accompanied by an online supplement, containing questions, assignments, and exercises, which will be regularly updated and may assist students (and practitioners) to further their understanding of WTO law and policy.

This book reflects the current state of WTO law. It is not our ambition in this book to express an opinion on how issues not yet adjudicated should be decided or, more broadly, how WTO law should develop in the future. Where we quote or refer to various, and often divergent, statements of negotiators, academics, or other eminent experts, we do so in order to give the reader a full picture of open debates. It is evident that the description of the current state of WTO law contained in this book is to be attributed to the authors in their private capacity and does not represent the views of the organisations to which they belong.