The Evolution Of Rule Of Law Under The GATT/WTO Regime

WTO is a"rule-based"inter-governmental organization. This paper traces the development of"rule-orientation"in the old GATT system, analyzes the mechanisms and institutions in the WTO regime that embrace the"rule of law", discusses the interface between WTO and its members and between WTO and other international organizations in the respect of'rule-making', and evaluates the legitimacy of the WTO rules in terms of both the rule-making process as well as the substantial effect of the rules.From an historical point of view, GATT, as the predecessor of WTO, was power-oriented at its inception. The second chapter discusses the monumental events in the development of'rule-orientation'in GATT practice and points out the significance of'rule of law'to multilateral trade regime. Rule of law is central to WTO, this chapter also analyses the various aspect of WTO regime that ensure rule of law.WTO has an important role in global governance. WTO rules, backed up by the powerful dispute settlement mechanism, effectively discipline the sovereign states. At some cutting-edge issues, WTO rules potentially overlap and conflict with rules made by other international organizations. The third chapter analyzes the interface at these two levels and explores the allocation of rule-making power.WTO is a global institution. It has 150 members with 5 billion people. The imbalance in economic and political power among members profoundly affects the decision-making process in WTO. The fourth chapter challenges the legitimacy of WTO rules for they have consistent features of being disadvantageous to the developing world. WTO is also in the era of'cosmopolitics'and must be responsible to the general public. It is argued that increasing transparency and participation of the civil society could alleviate the democracy deficit and enhance the legitimacy of WTO rules.