I wanted to mention two new books on WTO law. The first I've been reading; the second is in the mail and I'll read it soon.
The one I've been reading is A History of Law and Lawyers in the GATT/WTO: The Development of the Rule of Law in the Multilateral Trading System, edited by Gabrielle Marceau. Here is a summary:
How did a treaty that emerged in the aftermath of the Second World War, and barely survived its early years, evolve into one of the most influential organisations in international law? This unique book brings together original contributions from an unprecedented number of eminent current and former GATT and WTO staff members, including many current and former Appellate Body members, to trace the history of law and lawyers in the GATT/WTO and explore how the nature of legal work has evolved over the institution's sixty-year history. In doing so, it paints a fascinating portrait of the development of the rule of law in the multilateral trading system, and allows some of the most important personalities in GATT and WTO history to share their stories and reflect on the WTO's remarkable journey from a 'provisionally applied treaty' to an international organisation defined by its commitment to the rule of law.
The book has some really good contributions from lots of very knowledgeable people, including some who worked at the GATT/WTO long before many of us were even aware of it!
The one I haven't read yet, but which looks interesting, is A Digest of WTO Jurisprudence on Public International Law Concepts and Principles, by Graham Cook of the WTO Secretariat. Here is a summary:
In its first twenty years, the WTO dispute settlement system generated over 350 decisions totalling more than 60,000 pages. These decisions contain many statements by WTO adjudicators regarding the law of treaties, state responsibility, international dispute settlement, and other topics of general public international law. This book is a collection of nearly one thousand statements by WTO adjudicators relating to admissibility and jurisdiction; attribution of conduct to a State; breach of an obligation; conflicts between treaties; countermeasures; due process; evidence before international tribunals; good faith; judicial economy; municipal law; non-retroactivity; reasonableness; sources of international law; sovereignty; treaty interpretation; and words and phrases commonly used in treaties and other international legal instruments. This comprehensive digest presents summaries and extracts organized systematically under issue-specific sub-headings, making this jurisprudence easily accessible to students and practitioners working in any field of international law.
I sense there is still confusion as to the precise basis on which international law is relevant to WTO disputes, but there is not much doubt that it is relevant. It is clear at this stage of the development of WTO law that if there is an international law argument to be made, someone will make it.