Skip Navigation

European Journal of International Law 2009 20(3):615-645; doi:10.1093/ejil/chp039
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Feichtner, I.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

The European Journal of International Law Vol. 20 no. 3 © EJIL 2009; all rights reserved

The Waiver Power of the WTO: Opening the WTO for Political Debate on the Reconciliation of Competing Interests

Isabel Feichtner*

* Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. I thank Jürgen Friedrich for his comments on an earlier draft. This research project was supported by the European Social Fund; An earlier version of this text was published as Jean Monnet Working Paper 11/08. Email: ifeichtn{at}mpil.de


  Abstract

This article analyses the potential of the WTO waiver as a legal instrument to reconcile conflicting norms and interests. It is argued that conflicts between WTO law and other international legal regimes are often an expression of underlying conflicts of interest and that these should be addressed in political processes. The article proposes that the waiver process has the potential to become a forum for political debate which is open not only to economic interests, but also to other public interests and perspectives. The waiver decision which concludes such a process can provide a solution to conflicts of interest either by modifying the existing rules of WTO law or by limiting the WTO's jurisdiction in favour of another international legal regime. These theses are explored with reference to the TRIPS and Kimberley waiver decisions.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.