WTO’s engagement with National Law: three illustrations from India

Ravindra Pratap

Resumen


The WTO has significantly engaged with Indian law in at least three WTO contexts covering three covered agreements. In the first case, the Indian executive’s instructions were not accepted as corroborative of India’s compliance on the ground that these created “a certain degree of legal insecurity” and were devoid of “sound legal basis” under Indian law. On the second occasion, the WTO did not accept the impact of the statement of an Indian official on an Indian Statutory Order as evidence of compliance with India’s WTO obligation despite the fact that the statement had corroborated the Indian executive’s exercise of the legislative discretion. And, finally, it was found immaterial for the WTO whether executive or legislature internalizes or domesticates international law but not whether it has a sufficient degree of normativity or bindingness for the purposes of admissibly affording an affirmative WTO defence despite the fact that the Indian executive took action pursuant to international instruments. Thus, while these engagements of the WTO with Indian law are not without discernible contribution to its jurisprudence on engagement with national law, it would be hard to say that they are wholly without comparable measures of discernible divergence discernibly pointing to a progressive degree of doctrinal deference to the state.

Palabras clave


Keywords: means, sound legal basis, recognition, laws or regulations, normativity

Texto completo:

PDF (English)

Referencias


A Nollkaemper (2011) National Courts and the International Rule of Law (London: Oxford University Press).

A Roberts, ‘Comparative International Law? The Role of National Courts in Creating and Enforcing International Law’ (2011) 60 International & Comparative Law Quarterly, 57.

André Nollkaemper (2011) Domestic Courts and the Rule of International Law (Oxford University Press).

Andrew Edgar and Rayner Thwaites, ‘Implementing Treaties in Domestic Law: Translation, Enforcement and Administrative Law’ (2018) 19 Melbourne Journal of International Law 24.

Andrew Green, ‘Climate Change, Regulatory Policy and the WTO’ (2005) 8 Journal of International Economic Law 143.

Anne-Marie Slaughter, ‘A Global Community of Courts’ (2003) 44 Harvard international Law Journal 191.

Antonin Scalia & Bryan A Garner (2012) Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts (St. Paul: Thomson/West).

Arie Reich, ‘The WTO as a Law-Harmonizing Institution’ (2004) 25 University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law 321.

Armin von Bogdandy and Ingo Venzke, ‘In Whose Name? An Investigation of International Courts’ Public Authority and Its Democratic Justification’ (2012) 23 EJIL 7.

Caroline Henckels, ‘Permission to Act: The Legal Character of General and Security Exceptions in International Trade and Investment Law’ (2020), 69 International & Comparative Law Quarterly 557.

Chad P Bown and Jennifer A Hillman, ‘Bird Flue, the OIE, and the National Regulation: The WTO’s India–Agricultural Products Dispute’ (2016) 15 World Trade Review 235.

Chios Carmody, ‘A Theory of WTO Law’ (2008) 11 Journal of International Economic Law 527.

Claude Chase, ‘Norm Conflict between WTO Covered Agreements—Real, Apparent or Avoided?’ (2012) 61 International & Comparative Law Quarterly 791.

Claus-Dieter Ehlermann and Nikolas Lockhart, ‘Standard of Review in WTO Law’ (2004) 7 Journal of International Economic Law 491.

Dana Burchardt, ‘The Functions of Law and their Challenges: The Differentiated Functionality of International Law’ (2019) 20 German Law Journal 409.

Dinah Shelton, ed. (2011) International Law and Domestic Legal Systems: Incorporation, Transformation, and Persuasion (Oxford University Press).

Donald H. Regan, ‘The Meaning of Necessary in GATT Article XX and GATS Article XIV: the Myth of Cost-Benefit Balancing’ (2007), 6 World Trade Review 347.

Donald McRae, ‘GATT Article XX and the WTO Appellate Body’ in Marco Bronckers and Reinhard Quick (eds), New Directions of International Economic Law (The Hague: Kluwer, 2000) 219.

Edwin Borchard, ‘Relation Between International Law and Municipal Law’ (1940) 27 Virginia Law Review 137.

Edwin D Dickinson, “Changing Concepts and the Doctrine of Incorporation” (1932) 26 American Journal of International Law 239.

Emily Lydgate, “Is it Rational and Consistent? The WTO’s Surprising Role in Shaping Domestic Public Policy’ (2017) 20 Journal of International Economic Law 561.

Eric W Bond and Kamal Saggi, ‘Patent protection in developing countries and global welfare: WTO obligations and flexibilities’ (2020) 122 Journal of International Economics 1.

Federica Paddeu (2018) Justification and Excuse in International Law: Concept and Theory of General Defences (London: CUP).

Filippo Fontanelli, ‘Necessity killed the GATT: Art XX GATT and the misleading rhetoric about ‘weighing and balancing’ (2012) 4 European Journal of Legal Studies 39.

G. Betlem and A Nollkaemper, ‘Giving Effect to Public International Law and European Community Law before Domestic Courts’ (2003) 14 European Journal of International Law 569.

Georgio Sacerdoti, ‘Precedent in the Settlement of International Economic Disputes: The WTO and Investment Arbitration Models’ in Arthur W. Rovine (ed) (2010) Contemporary Issues in International Arbitration and Mediation: The Fordham Papers (The Hague: Brill) vol. 4, 225.

Gracia Marín Durán, ‘Sheltering Government Support to ‘Green’ Electricity: The European Union and the World Trade Organization’ (2018) 67 International & Comparative aw Quarterly 129.

H G Schermers, ‘The Role of Domestic Courts in Effectuating International Law’ (1990) 3 Leiden Journal of International Law, 77.

Henrik Andersen, ‘India-Solar Cells and Mexico-Soft Drinks: Multilevel Rule of Law Challenges in the Interpretation of Art. XX(D) of GATT 1994 in WTO Case Law’ (2019) X Indian Journal of International Economic Law 58.

Ilaria Espa and Gracia Marín Durán, Renewable Energy Subsidies and WTO Law: Time to Rethink the Case for Reform Beyond Canada – Renewable Energy/Fit Program’ (2018) 21 Journal of International Economic Law 621.

James R Cohee, ‘The WTO and Domestic Political Disquiet: Has Legalization of the Global Trade Regime Gone Too Far?’ (2008) 15 Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 351.

Joel P. Trachtman, “International Legal Control of Domestic Administrative Action” (2014) 17 Journal of International Economic Law 753.

Joseph A McMahon, ‘National Regulation and the WTO: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back’ (2003) 21 Law Context: A Socio-Legal Journal 176.

Kamal Saggi and Mark Wu, ‘Trade and Agricultural Disease: Import Restrictions in the Wake of the India–Agricultural Products Dispute’ (2017) 17 World Trade Review 279.

Kwan Kiat Sim, ‘Rethinking the mandatory/discretionary legislation distinction in WTO jurisprudence’ (2003) 2 World Trade Review 33.

L Ferrari-Bravo, ‘International and Municipal Law: The Complementarity of Legal Systems’, in R St J MacDonald and D M Johnston (eds), The Structure and Process of International Law (1986) 715.

Maria Weimer, ‘Reconciling Regulatory Space with External Accountability through WTO Adjudication—Trade, Environment and Development’ (2017) 30 Leiden Journal of International Law 901.

Marianna Kartunnen and Michael O Moore, ‘India – Solar Cells: Trade Rules, Climate Policy, and Sustainable Development Goals’, 17 World Trade Review 215.

Naoto Nelson Saika, ‘Seeds, Trade, Trust: Regionalization Commitments under the SPS Agreement’ (2017) 20 Journal of International Economic Law 855.

Oisin Suttle, ‘Rules and Values in International Adjudication: The Case of the WTO Appellate Body’ (2019) 68 International & Comparative Law Quarterly 399.

P C Mavroidis (2012) Trade in Goods (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

Petros C Mavroidis, ‘The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight: The Not So Magnificent Seven of the WTO Appellate Body’ (2016) 27 European Journal of International Law 1107.

PJ Kuyper, ‘The Law of GATT as a Special Field of International Law: Ignorance, Further Refinement or Self-Contained System of International Law’ (1994) 25 Netherlands Yearbook of International Law 227.

Ravindra Pratap (2010) Interpretation of Statutes: A Reader (New Delhi: Manak).

Ravindra Pratap, “The First WTO Appellate Body Report on Regional Adaptation under the SPS Agreement” (2016), 13 Manchester Journal of International Economic Law 81.

Roger O’Keefe, ‘The Doctrine of Incorporation Revisited (2008) 79 British Yearbook of International Law 1.

S K Agrawala, ‘Indian Judicial Reasoning and Transnational Law’ (1984) 22 Archiv des Völkerrechts 1.

Sharif Bhuyian, ‘Mandatory and Discretionary Legislation; The Continues Relevance of the Distinction under the WTO’ (2002) 5 Journal of International Economic Law 571.

Sherzod Shadikhodjaev, ‘India – Certain Measures Relating to Solar Cells and Solar Modules’ (2017) 111 AJIL 139.

Steve Charnovitz and Carolyn Fischer, ‘Canada—Renewable Energy: Implications for WTO Law on Green and Not-So-Green Subsidies’ (2015) 14 World Trade Review 177.

Sunil K Sahu, ‘Globalization, WTO, and the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry’ (2014) 41 Asian Affairs: An American Review 172.

Susanne Dröge et al., ‘National Climate Change Policies and WTO Law: a Case Study of Germany’s new policies’ (2004) 3 World Trade Review 161.

Timm Betz, ‘Domestic Institutions, Trade Disputes, and the Monitoring and Enforcement of International Law (2018) 44 International Interactions 631.

Tom Campbell, ‘Incorporation Through Interpretation’ in Tom Campbell, KD Ewing, and Adam Tomkins, eds. (2001) Sceptical Essays on Human Rights (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

Wayne Sandholtz, ‘How Domestic Courts Use International Law’ (2015) 38 Fordham International Law Journal 595.

William J Davey, ‘Has the WTO Dispute Settlement Exceeded Its Authority?: A Consideration of Deference Shown by the System to Member Government Decisions and Its Use of Issue-Avoidance Techniques’ (2001) 6 Journal of International Economic Law 79.

Xiuyan Fei, ‘A Critical Analysis of WTO Tribunals’ Characterization of National Law Interpretation’ (2017) 14 US-China Law Review 403.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5102/rdi.v18i3.7780

ISSN 2236-997X (impresso) - ISSN 2237-1036 (on-line)

Desenvolvido por:

Logomarca da Lepidus Tecnologia