Raising Human Rights Arguments in WTO Dispute Settlement Proceedings

Abstract

There is considerable disagreement about the mechanisms by which to find consistency between trade law and human rights law rules, norms and standards, particularly when the forum under consideration is WTO dispute settlement proceedings. This contribution addresses the question of the extent to which the dispute settlement system of the WTO can deal with these concerns. It is through dispute settlement that the precise nature of WTO obligations is formulated. So, if WTO Members were to raise human rights issues in dispute settlement proceedings, how could (and should) dispute settlement panels and the Appellate Body deal with them? The paper considers various approaches advocated by scholars with a particular focus on the general exception clauses. It weighs and balances both the positive and negative implications of the use of general exception clauses from a human rights perspective.,

Keywords: Human Rights, international trade, World Trade Organisation, WTO, general exception clauses