WTO Non-Violation or Situation Complaints: A Remedy for Extraterritorial Effects on the Human Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

Abstract

Economic globalization has created the possibility that human rights can be infringed abroad. The WTO, an engine of economic globalization, has remained surprisingly immune from human rights-related complaints. I argue that its non-violation or situation complaint, by invoking impediments to the attainment of treaty objectives, could provide for redress when WTO members interfere with the right to an adequate standard of living and the continuous improvement of living conditions abroad through trade in goods. The non-violation and situation complaints reflect the shared but differentiated responsibility of WTO members for the human right to an adequate standard of living.

Keywords: WTO law, human rights, non-violation complaints

JEL Classification: A13, F15, F19, I30, K33