On The Effectiveness Of Special And Differential Treatment Clauses And Its Mechanism For Development In WTO Regime

The effective operation of the multilateral trade system holds good prospects for all participants if the needs of all are addressed in a systematic way.As much as it is to be desired that fundamental principles like mutuality,reciprocity and non-discrimination remain the central pillars in the trade regime,a 'one size fits all' is not desirable.Fairness cannot be conceived solely in the equal application of rules,but perhaps more importantly,in the due regard that is paid to the needs of those who will become more disadvantaged by the equal application of rules.Whatever form non-discrimination,mutuality and reciprocity take in the multilateral trade system,it appears that as long as wide inequalities persist in the levels of economic and industrial development of WTO Members,there will continue to be the need to derogate from some of the fundamental rules of the trading system so as to promote some measure of effective equality in the participation of countries in international trade.Though the WTO is not a development organization,it always believes that effective integration of all members makes this institution more consistent which can handle the needs and concerns at different levels of economic development.The special and differential treatment(SDT)offers one way in which it can aid development by recognizing the distinct needs of developing countries in a certain context.Despite the numerous numbers of SDT clauses in various WTO Agreements,developing countries have always raised concern about the effectiveness and operationalization of SDT provisions.Due to the lack of implementation mechanism,non-mandatory nature,legal instability,developing countries always seek alternative approaches i.e.regional trade arrangements to fulfil their interest.But it's never too late to take positive efforts to tackle those problems and make SDT clauses more effective.These developing countries believe that the new arrangement is not against the trade liberalization rather a positive initiative to increase and facilitate liberalization.This dissertation introduces a framework based on 'treaty effectiveness'and applying it to SDT clauses which would make it more effective and operational.In this dissertation,treaty effectiveness postulates three cardinal mechanisms namely object and purposive interpretation,legitimacy and compliance.A country may comply with a treaty for various reasons but that treaty may nevertheless fail to attain its effectiveness if it fails to overcome its objectives.It should carefully scrutinize the objectives of the WTO i.e.,resolving imbalance,removing unfreedom and better integration when we are going to interpret the SDT provisions.Legitimacy can only be accorded when a rule made or applied in accordance with the right process and it ought to promote voluntary compliance.Thus the dissertation also evaluates the decision-making process of the WTO and gives recommendations on how to make them more operational and transparent for SDT clauses.One of the leading means of looking at effectiveness is through the lens of compliance.In this dissertation,also tries to demonstrate that the enforcement model of compliance should be replaced with a managerial model of compliance to get a better result and make SDT clauses more effective.The analysis and assessment of SDT clauses in the WTO suggest that,a reorientation is time-bound and which should be provided by the evolving understanding of the links between trade and development and removing constraints face by different developing countries.