Public Morals in International Trade: WTO Faces Censorship

Abstract

Pursuant to their WTO commitments, Member States shall liberalize trade in goods, services and intellectual property rights, without any exceptions apart from those expressly provided by the covered agreements. China—Measures Affecting Trading Rights and Distribution Services for Certain Publications and Audiovisual Entertainment Products represents an interesting assessment on the application of the public morals exception under Art. XX.a GATT. When censorship is at stake, the definition of public morals is inextricably linked to the concurring protection of freedom of expression. Given this interplay at the trade and human rights’ levels, this paper aims to assess whether the implementation of WTO commitments may have the effect of contributing to the removal of the filters imposed by censorship. In so doing, it seeks to verify whether the liberalization of international trade may contextually function as a means for enhancing freedom of expression.KeywordsWorld Trade OrganizationPanel ReportWorld Trade Organization AgreementWorld Trade Organization DisputePublic MoralThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.