CISDL News & Press Releases

Doha Qatar | November 12, 2001

WTO, seek counsel?

The WTO still faces serious problems in terms of public legitimacy. One way to overcome these problems could be through intensified cooperation with other international organisations.

Certain examples of institutionalised cooperation already exist. In the SPS Agreement, the WTO relies on external expertise in the field of food, animal and plant safety. Standards, guidelines and recommendations from international bodies like the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the International Office of Epizootics and the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention are presumed to be consistent with SPS and GATT provision, Art. 3.2 SPS. So if a standard for organic apples is recognised by Codex Alimentarius and is challenged in a WTO dispute, the burden of proof will be much harder to bear, because the WTO has agreed to respect the food experts. This legal redirection should be possible in other areas of WTO Agreements.
The dispute settlement mechanism has made a few timid steps toward a reliance on external expertise. In the 2000 EC- Canada Asbestos Case the panel asked the World Health Organisation (WHO) on advice about the carcinogenic character of the substance. The WTO secretariat has some cooperation agreements with other international governmental organisations on a very technical level.

But there are other areas where the reliance on external expertise could help the WTO. The WHO could provide input on health matters. Since discussions on health and TRIPS are a hot topic, the WTO should not just rely on the specialised knowledge of trade experts or keep the WHO as observers. In matters of the environment, the WTO should have a closer look at the work of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP). A legally binding presumption of conformity could provide a viable solution for environmental measures. An international sustainable development law perspective suggests that the WTO is bound by the principles of international human rights law, and should therefore consult with international human rights bodies, such as the UN Human Rights Commission, in the development and application of WTO Agreements, in particular TRIPS. In the area of labour standards the WTO has already made explicit reference to the work of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), but cooperation should be institutionalised. Reliance on solid ILO standards could provide a viable justification for appropriate member state measures.

"We strongly advise the WTO to explore further options for international institutional cooperation," said CISDL Lead Counsel on International Sustainable Trade Law Markus Gehring in Doha. He can be contacted in Doha for interviews on the ISDL aspects of the negotiations at markus@cisdl.org.