Suchergebnisse

AbstractLabour lawyers have raised concerns that the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has the potential to limit member States' ability to respond to violations of (international) labour rights/standards, both at home and abroad. But its Appellate Body has interpreted WTO law to "permit pluralism", preserving Members' right to regulate. This jurisprudence has carved out "policy space" for Members, broadened the scope of doctrinal exceptions and blunted the force of disciplines that seek deep integration through regulatory coordination/coherence. These moves mean that numerous labour‐protecting measures are likely to be legal under WTO law, diminishing the potential conflict between multilateral trade law and labour law.

ResumenLos Acuerdos de la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC) pueden limitar la capacidad de sus Estados Miembros para reaccionar ante violaciones de los derechos y normas (internacionales) del trabajo tanto en su territorio como en el extranjero. Se expone aquí cómo el Órgano de Apelación de la OMC ha interpretado esos Acuerdos con un enfoque «pluralista», preservando el derecho de los Miembros a legislar, ampliando el alcance de las excepciones generales y atenuando los efectos desreguladores de ciertas disposiciones. Numerosas medidas de protección del trabajo podrían pues ser compatibles con las obligaciones de no discriminación del derecho mercantil internacional.

RésuméPour certains juristes du travail, les règles de l'OMC pourraient empêcher les États de sanctionner comme ils l'entendent les atteintes aux normes et droits relatifs au travail protégés par le droit national ou international, sur leur sol ou ailleurs. Cependant, dans sa jurisprudence, l'Organe d'appel de l'organisation a admis un certain pluralisme des règles, protégeant ainsi l'autonomie des État en matière réglementaire. Cette interprétation élargit également le champ des exceptions autorisées, et elle atténue la portée dérégulatrice de certaines dispositions du droit de l'OMC. De nombreuses mesures de protection des travailleurs pourraient donc devenir acceptables et compatibles avec les règles du droit commercial international.

AbstractThe World Trade Organization is at an important institutional crossroads, buffeted by critique and with its once-heralded dispute system in doubt. Despite some achievements at the 2022 MC12 Ministerial Conference, the WTO appears in crisis, without a strong institutional mandate. In this Article, we offer a vision for its future, rooted in a particular interpretation of its past. The WTO's legal architecture is characterized by a resilient pluralism, which seeks to preserve diversity of governance models and regulatory approaches, both economic and political, in the domestic orders of member states. Despite strong pressures to impose a neoliberal vision of the state-market relationship on states, this pluralism has persevered; it offers a response to the WTO's critics and a mandate for the WTO's future.