Abstract
Beyond trade facilitation, transparency norms in the WTO legal context are, implicitly and explicitly, aimed at addressing problems in the domestic administrative laws of its members. Through the lens of global governance, this article attempts to shed more light on the power of transparency norms enshrined in multilateral trading agreements under the aegis of the WTO. In this global ruled-based system, transparency has become sufficiently powerful to be a multifunctional instrument for promoting the rule of law, good governance, and democracy.
Highlights
Despite continuing debates about whether Western liberal democratic values explicitly conflict with Eastern culture in developing countries, Western transparency norms have recently become internationally and domestically accepted and are considered to be a key component of good governance and public policy in both public and private sectors
This paper argues that the spirit of Article X of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 is to promote the rule of law in the World Trade Organization (WTO) context
Transparency norms have been transmitted to the WTO, and in turn, to developing countries
Summary
Despite continuing debates about whether Western liberal democratic values explicitly conflict with Eastern culture in developing countries, Western transparency norms have recently become internationally and domestically accepted and are considered to be a key component of good governance and public policy in both public and private sectors. The US government had successfully provided models for administrative procedure and international trade law, whereby “emphasis on transparency, fairness, and access to the courts has increased the accountability, fairness, efficiency, and acceptability of a wide range of government decision making.” As a result, despite the incompatibility of Article X with the underlying GATT structure, its adoption has played a significant role in shaping so-called global governance. From foregoing core ideas, the World Justice Project developed the four principles of the rule of law: regulatory quality, government accountability, due process, and an effective and independent judiciary Following this definition, unquestioningly, Article X of GATT 1994 is aimed at promoting the rule of law within member states, transition countries, under the naïve Western assumption that the rule of law is “an elixir” to improve economic performance. The following table presents this hypothesis as demonstrated by the implications of the rule of law in Article X of GATT 1994:
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