Sustainable Development: Linking the Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions to WTO?

Abstract

The Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions), adopted on 20 October 2005, has breathed new life into the ‘trade and culture’ debate. Witness the fact that several scholars have discussed the position of the Cultural Diversity Convention in relation to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This literature on the Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions describes three possible hypotheses on how the Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, as part of public international law, could play a role within the framework of WTO. First, the Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions could be invoked as a defense to claims under WTO covered agreements (WTO claims). This defense would be independent from the exceptions expressly mentioned in the WTO agreements. Second, the Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions may be used to interpret WTO provisions relevant in a WTO claim. Third, the Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions might indirectly influence the WTO by offering its members an improved bargaining position during WTO negotiations. Yet, not everything has been revealed. This paper is going to argue that the concept of sustainable development may bring the Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and the WTO regime closer to each other.