National Treatment and WTO Dispute Settlement : Adjudicating the Boundaries of Regulatory Autonomy

Abstract

Part 1 Defining the interface between WTO and domestic legal orders through the interpretation of national treatment: WTO and domestic regulation - national treatment as a gatekeeper is necessity adjudicatable? overview. Part 2 The building blocks - GATT rules on domestic regulation and the 1994 transplant to services: the GATT system for policing domestic regulation - basics the goods-services transplant. Part 3 How they were construed - the case law on national treatment, legitimate policy exceptions and non-violation under GATT and GATS: the definition of the scope of national treatment under GATT and GATS by panels and appellate body existing limitations on the scope of de facto discrimination -legitimate objectives and least restrictive means under GATT and GATS national treatment and non-violation. Part 4 From Japanese shoshu to Chilean pisco - two ways to think about WTO assessment of origin-neutral regulation: stock-taking - the Japan-alcoholic beverages track our proposal - the Chile-alcoholic beverages track. Part 5 Why equate non-discrimination with necessity?: the intuitive argument -safeguarding regulatory autonomy by requiring regulatory efficiency remedying the flaws and failures of existing case law - adding some rule to the standard an integrated necessity test is warranted by a Vienna Convention-conforming interpretation good faith performance of national treatment obligations as a proxy for optimal care in international trade making necessity adjudicatable.