The Application of Non-WTO Rules of International Law in WTO Dispute Settlement

Abstract

Can WTO panels apply general rules on state responsibility? Can they apply provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Lawof Treaties other than those on treaty interpretation? Are WTO panels mandated to applynon-WTOtreaties, such as multilateral environmental agreements, or bilateral agreements concluded only as between the disputing parties? If so, what is the relationship between these non-WTO rules of international law and the WTO Agreement? Which prevails in the event of conflict? Those are some of the practical questions examined in this Chapter. Part I examines the nature of WTO law. Part II looks at how WTO law interacts in the abstract with other rules of international law. Then the jurisdictional scope of WTO panels is set forth (Part III) and the law that panels may apply and refer to in examining WTO claims (Part IV). The outcome of the interaction between WTO and other international law in practice before a WTO panel, is addressed in Part V. Part VI provides a summary of the chapter and offers some guidelines to WTO negotiators and other treaty-makers.