A Study On The Legal Problems Of Jurisdiction Conflict Between WTO And RTA Dispute Settlement Mechanism

After the Second World War, Multilateral Trade System had an unprecedenteddevelopment and WTO was born at that moment. But since1990s, the number ofRegional Trade Agreements increased sharply. In accordance with Article24ofGATT1994, the member of Multilateral Trade System could also join in RegionalTrade Agreements. So in the circumstances where WTO’s dispute settlementmechanism co-exist with that of Regional Trade Agreements, once the party ofdispute chooses the dispute settlement mechanism, the conflicts of jurisdiction willoccuraccordingly.In recent years, the conflict of jurisdiction of WTO and Regional Trade Agreementsoccurred frequently. In this circumstance, we need to have a care study regarding therelationship of jurisdictions of WTO and Regional Trade Agreements, which will bevery helpful for healthy and stable development of WTO, Regional Trade Agreementsand even the trade of world. In addition, resolving the conflicts could also prevent thefragmentation of international law effectively and make the system of internationallaw more stable and unified.There are five parts here. Chapter one introduces the case of Tax Measures on SoftDrinks and Other Beverages between Mexico and US and the attitude of DSBregarding the conflict of jurisdiction.Chapter two and three describe the overview andcharactersof the WTO and RTAs’ settlement mechanism, analyzesthe relationshipbetween the two, and describes the origin from the GATT’s Article24.Chapter fourfocuses questions into the conflict of jurisdiction of the WTO and RTAsdisputesettlement mechanism and analyzes the reasons of such conflict. Chapter four tries tointroduce the methods of existing jurisdiction, includinginterpreting the rulesregarding WTO dispute settlement mechanism by the principles of international law,distinguishing the jurisdiction and admissibility and revising the relevant rules ofWTO and Regional Trade Agreements.