Interpreting WTO Agreements: Problems and Perspectives

The case law of the World Trade Organization is extensive, now running into some three hundred decided cases and thousands of pages. The interpretative process involved in this jurisprudence constitutes a form of legislative activity, and is therefore of great significance not only to the parties to disputes, but to the membership of the WTO. Qureshi identifies some of the underlying problems of interpreting WTO agreements, and examines the conditions for the interpretation of these agreements. Since the first edition of this book, the case law has grown, and the interpretation evolved further. This second edition addresses these developments and engages in the contemporary discourse on the subject. Also included is a new section on issues of interpretation relating to preferential trade agreements and the WTO. This book is an essential tool for WTO trade specialists, as well as government and judicial officers concerned with interpreting these agreements.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; 1. Interpreting principles of treaty interpretation in the WTO; 2. Interpreting institutional aspects of the WTO agreements; 3. National dimension to interpretation in the framework of the WTO; 4. Interpreting exceptions in WTO agreements; 5. Interpreting WTO agreements for the development objective; 6. Interpreting 'in' external concerns; 7. Interpreting the agreements on trade remedies; 8. Interpreting the relationship between WTO and preferential trade arrangements in the interpretative process; Conclusion.

About the Author :
Asif H. Qureshi is Professor of International Economic Law in the School of Law at Korea University, Seoul, a barrister attached to Quadrant Chambers, London and Editor-in-Chief of Manchester Journal of International Economic Law.

Review :
'Written with clarity and precision by one of the world's foremost international trade law scholars, the second edition provides even broader and deeper insights than its predecessor into the interpretation of WTO texts. Special virtues of this edition include great care paid to the impact on poor countries of WTO adjudications, and placement of those outcomes in wider economic and political contexts. Students, scholars, and practitioners will find time spent with this new edition both enlightening and productive.' Raj Bhala, Associate Dean for International and Comparative Law, and Rice Distinguished Professor, University of Kansas 'The eagerly awaited second edition of Asif H. Qureshi's Interpreting WTO Agreements published some nine years after the first, is a compelling testimony not only of the author's superb mastery of the complexities of the general international law of treaty interpretation, but also to the remarkable fact of a rapidly growing body of WTO panel and Appellate Body reports which have come to enrich international economic law and practice even beyond the field of trade law. This book provides a detailed exploration of the key features of the WTO dispute settlement system in action in a clear and systematic manner, combining thorough analysis of leading cases in their socio-economic setting with theoretical and policy analysis. It is a book written in a reader-friendly style, a useful addition to the bookshelves of all concerned with the study of international trade law, whether for the first time or at a more advanced level.' Friedl Weiss, Universität Wien, Austria