Regional Free Trade Dispute Resolution as Means for Securing the Middle East Peace Process

Abstract

This article addresses the question whether legal mechanisms developed for dealing with trade disputes elsewhere in the world may be appropriate and helpful in constructing a free trade regime in the Middle East, observing that such a free trade regime (and the increased foreign investment that would accompany it) would lead to the economic development between Israel and the Palestinian Territories that is necessary to bring the region out of the peace process and into peace. This article focuses on regional free trade dispute resolution, and considers whether certain dynamics of regional free trade dispute resolution can be identified as relevant and constructive, whatever the particular evolution and stage of regional market integration. It argues that mechanisms of dispute resolution which have been tested elsewhere (such as international arbitration process to which the investor has access, provisional relief and interim measures, and investigatory and fact-finding power) offer significant potential for moving the legal and economic structure of the Middle East in the direction of a truly secure peace.