La protection environnementale face au principe de spécialité de l’Organisation Mondiale du Commerce
Is the principle of specialty of international organizations an obstacle to the protection of the environment by WTO law? In this research, we observe the impact of the specialty principle on environmental protection wills, in both WTO texts and in decisions of the Dispute Settlement Body. The first approach of this research comes from the observation of a priori opposition of the economic and environmental spheres. However, the WTO seems want to direct its standard-setting activity towards sustainable development. As the international environmental law develops, the WTO is trying to integrate non-economic values into its thinking. However, the fundamental principles of WTO law seek the liberalization of international trades while environmental measures are often barriers to trade. As a result, the principle of specialty seems to avoid a real integration of environmental considerations into WTO law. Scientific, civil and political awareness of the dangers of climate change is therefore pushing Members to adopt new ways of approaching the issue. International cooperation is strengthening between the bodies of international law and the law of the WTO seems able, thanks to negotiations, to adopt new regulations favorable to the environment. This research therefore seeks to observe, in the texts and the jurisprudence, the evolution of the taking into account of the environment within the law of the WTO through the prism of the specialty principle.
environmental protection World Trade Organization Principle of specialty liberalization of trade Multilateral Environmental Agreements