The following two "WTO Scholars' Forum" events may be of interest to this blog's readers:
1. WTO Scholars' Forum Seminar:
"Normative Integration as Authority Allocation: Two Models and their Application in the WTO"
Dr Tomer Broude, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
28th January 2008 at 1pm at the LSE
To register free of charge please contact Forum administrator, Ann Tucker, [email protected]
For more about the WTO Scholars' Forum see the website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/wto-forum/index.shtml or contact Dr Fiona Smith ([email protected]) or Dr Isabelle Van Damme, ([email protected]).
About the seminar:
This seminar compares and contrasts two models of normative integration in international law, focusing on their explicit and implied application in World Trade Organization (WTO) jurisprudence. 'Normative integration' in this context refers to a deliberate processes of countering normative fragmentation by blending and merging formally disparate substantive rules through interpretation, concurrent application, inter-rule 'comity' and other methods. One quite celebrated model of normative integration is offered by Article 31(3)(c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), whereby in the interpretation of a treaty, any relevant rules of international law applicable "in the relations between the parties" shall "be taken into account". A less well-known model of normative integration, applicable in the international law of sustainable development, can be found in the Principle of Integration in Paragraph 4 of the 1992 United
Nations (UN) Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, whereby ‘[i]n order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it’. The discussion will first explain how models of normative integration – usually considered as methods of reconciling conflicts in applicable law - also serve as principles of authority allocation among different generators of international norms. It will then review the application and/or implementation of both Article 31(3)(c) VCLT and the Rio Principle of Integration in WTO jurisprudence. The benefits and limits of each model will then be analyzed, and in conclusion, the viability of a general rule of integration as a principle of authority allocation in international law will be discussed, highlighting the VCLT model's tendency to focus on technical hierarchies, on one hand, and the Rio Model's abstractness and circularity, on the other.
2. WTO Scholars' Forum: Roundtable Discussion: The Brazil/Tyres Dispute
Iain McVay, Steptoe & Co.
Lothar Ehring, Directorate-General for Trade, European Commission
Dr. Andrew Lang, London School of Economics
5th February 6-8pm, Moot Court, UCL
To register free of charge please contact Forum administrator, Ann Tucker, [email protected]
For more about the WTO Scholars' Forum see the website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/wto-forum/index.shtml or contact the Directors, Dr Fiona Smith ([email protected]) or Dr Isabelle Van Damme, ([email protected]).
About the discussion:
“The decision of the World Trade Organization’s Panel in the Brazil – Tyres case has the potential to become a milestone in WTO jurisprudence on trade and the environment. At issue was Brazil’s ban on imports of retreaded tyres. The European Communities (EC) challenged the ban as a violation of WTO rules, whereas Brazil defended the measure as necessary to protect health and the environment. The Panel held that, although the ban was necessary to protect health and the environment, it was applied in a WTO-inconsistent manner because Brazil failed to enforce a similar ban on used tyre imports. Thus, the Panel decision effectively directed Brazil to impose further trade restrictions so as to advance its environmental objective. Previous WTO decisions have not gone this far in safeguarding environmental values. “ (2007) 11(23) ASIL Insights. The recent Appellate Body decision, only adds further interest. Our distinguished speakers will evaluate aspects of the dispute from both the EU's perspective, and an industry perspective to act as a starting point for further discussion.
