A major challenge for the multilateral trading system is to secure the benefits of trade liberalization without infringing on the freedom of governments to pursue legitimate domestic objectives. The difficulty lies in distinguishing between two types of situations. In one, a non-protectionist...

This article reflects on the suitability of including non-legal arbitrators in certain investment arbitrations. It presents different mechanisms that have been used in the investment arbitration context to aid legal arbitrators with scientific-technical issues and contemplates the drawbacks of...

A major challenge for the multilateral trading system is to secure the benefits of trade liberalization without infringing on the freedom of governments to pursue legitimate domestic objectives. The difficulty lies in distinguishing between two types of situations. In one, a non-protectionist...

Market access is the most important liberalizing principle in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It entails a general prohibition of quantitative restrictions, which however is conditional on commitments undertaken by Members in their respective Schedules of Commitments. Case-law...

This paper examines the Association Agreement between the EU and six Member States of the Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA), in particular Part IV of the Agreement (trade). More specifically, the paper is concerned with the repetition and reinforcement of WTO norms in the...

The ascendance of Donald J. Trump to the US Presidency coincided with the adoption of an aggressive US trade policy putting “America First” and backed by the use of unilateral trade sanctions by the US in defiance of the World Trade Organization. The basic tenets of US unilateralism, gleaned...

Die Verhandlungen zwischen den USA und der EU über das Transatlantische Freihandels- und Investitionsabkommen (TTIP) sind in den letzten Monaten in das öffentliche Interesse gerückt. Umstritten ist vor allem das vorgesehene Investitionskapitel, das neben der Investitionsliberalisierung...

This paper analyses the results of the financial services negotiations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) at the World Trade Organization (WTO). It shows that the negotiations have contributed to more stable and transparent policy regimes in many developing and transition...

This paper examines liberalization of the basic telecommunications sector in a number of Asian countries and the role of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in this process. It begins by explaining the working of the GATS as a mechanism for multilateral liberalization efforts. It...

The average international trade transaction is subject to numerous procedural and documentation requirements, which add to the costs of doing business as an importer or exporter and also use up scarce government resources. While these requirements can be necessary to fulfil policy objectives,...