This dissertation explores the legal issues raised by the participation of private persons in the settlement of international economic disputes, using the potential enlargement of legal standing in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as a case study. In the first part, a typology of the special regime of responsibility of WTO Members is drawn, to serve as a "normative bridge" between the twin phenomenon of legalisation of international trade relations and judicialisation of international trade dispute settlement. In the second part, a comparative study of the participation of private persons in the settlement of international economic disputes is conducted, using the doctrine of diplomatic protection from general international law as the analytical framework. This permits an inventory of the various means of private participation in the current practice of States, as well as shedding light on the main systemic problems that are raised, notably in the field of foreign direct investment, where important developments have taken place. In the third part, a study de lege feranda on the enlargement of legal standing in the WTO dispute settlement mechanism is undertaken. The study is rooted in the previous analysis of the special regime of responsibility of WTO Members and the comparative survey on the participation of private parties in the settlement of international economic disputes. The dissertation demonstrates that the problems concerning private persons in the current mechanism should not be answered by offering them direct access to the WTO, but rather by refocusing attention on the central role of the State in the mediation of diverging interests in the governance of the world trading system. It proposes as a conclusion that WTO Members should instead look into formalising the process of handling private complaints at the domestic level.

NAFTA's Article 2005 prescribes that the NAFTA governments, being Canada, Mexico and the US, may choose either a multilateral or a regional forum within which to solve their trade disputes. Thus, they may choose between either the new WTO dispute settlement mechanism or the NAFTA Chapter 20 dispute settlement mechanism. Nevertheless, in order to have an effective choice of forum, there is one essential condition: the subject matter of the dispute must be similar or identical, and there must be some degree of subject matter overlap in both the NAFTA and WTO provisions. The relationship between NAFTA, the WTO and GATT is complex. The core problem is whether there is a legal distinction between the GATT 1947 and the GATT 1994, incorporated into the WTO Agreement, in order to establish either NAFTA or WTO primacy. The latter-in-time treaty general rule will decide the issue. Nevertheless, a decisive conclusion cannot be drawn, as this should be studied on a case-by-case basis.

In 1995 the WTO began functioning as an institution that aims at reducing the trade barriers between countries. The Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) is one of the numerous agreements that bind the WTO Members. The agreement embodies a mechanism to solve disputes which presents many obstacles to Developing Countries. This thesis seeks to shed light on the difficulties that Developing Countries commonly face when attempting to put forward a trade complaint. Taking into account the factors that cause the problematic situation, proposals for improvement are also given. Special attention is paid to the current negotiations to reform the DSU in the context of the Doha Round.

A central feature of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is its Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM). Access to the DSM is presently limited to member governments; other entities such as NGOs are not eligible to be WTO Members and, consequently, are denied formal participation in the dispute settlement process. However, non-governmental entities have been afforded a limited opportunity to express their views through the submission of amicus briefs in dispute settlement proceedings. There are concerns, in particular on the part of Developing Countries, over the Appellate Body's authority to confer such a role to these entities. This paper aims to analyze the issues surrounding the status of non-governmental entities at the WTO level with respect to the DSM, how its Appellate Body is interpreting the law of the WTO, and how far the criticism of Developing Countries towards the Appellate Body's interpretation of WTO law is justified.

Although the WTO anti-dumping rules have been created to reconcile and monitor domestic anti-dumping measures, different jurisdictions still have tremendous variations in their domestic anti-dumping legislation and interpretations. Such differences may suggest opportunities for further innovations, especially for countries where the anti-dumping legislation is under-developed, such as China. Through a comparative study of the domestic anti-dumping legislation among the United States, the European Community, and China, problems and opportunities for the innovation of China's anti-dumping law will be found.

In this paper I delve into the connection between trade policy and labour rights as probably one of the most controversial issues, which the international trading system is faced with today. Labour laws differ from country to country and of course it is a cause for concern where some countries have higher standards than others, it becomes problematic for these countries with high standards to compete with countries with lower standards. Even though there is a definite link between trade and labour, my argument is that incorporating labour standards into the international trading system is not the best way forward to deal with the problem of abuse of labour standards.<br /> <br /> I further investigate the two organizations at the forefront of this debate, being the WTO and the ILO. In an attempt to ascertain which of the two is the best forum to deal with the issue I further look at the relationship between these two organizations. Compliance with international labour standards is a growing concern as worldwide standards are deteriorating and nothing is being done to alleviate the problem. Accordingly, I explore the causes for the abuse of labour standards and seek to find the better alternative, by looking at the respective positions of the parties who are for and against the linkage of trade with labour standards. Here the views and concerns of the developed world are weighed up against those of the developing world and looking at possible alternatives concludes the paper.

This thesis seeks to investigate the lack of participation by African countries in the WTO Dispute Settlement System by first providing an overview of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) system and, secondly by explaining the reasons that forestall the participation of African countries.

Zugl.: Düsseldorf, Univ., Diss., 2005

Zugl.: Kiel, Univ., Diss., 2005

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 375-423.