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The Misguided Debate over NGO Participation at the WTO

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  • Dunoff, Jeffrey L

Abstract

Whether private parties and NGOs should participate in the WTO system has recently become one of the most contentious issues in trade law and policy. However, this debate proceeds from the implicit--but mistaken--assumption that these entities currently do not participate in the system. While, as a formal matter, WTO 'legislative' and dispute resolution systems are open only to state actors, in fact private parties already participate extensively in WTO processes. Through discussion of several WTO disputes, including the Kodak-Fuji dispute, this paper demonstrates how the current debate substantially understates the considerable roles that NGOs already play in disputes submitted to the WTO. The claims here are largely positive and descriptive, rather than normative. By identifying and clarifying the roles that private parties currently play, I hope to close the increasing gulf between academic debate and WTO practice, and move the debate over NGO participation to a more fruitful series of inquiries. To this end, I argue that the controversy over NGO participation at the WTO can be understood as a particular instantiation of a larger debate over the roles of non-state actors in the international legal system. Copyright 1998 by Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Dunoff, Jeffrey L, 1998. "The Misguided Debate over NGO Participation at the WTO," Journal of International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(3), pages 433-456, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jieclw:v:1:y:1998:i:3:p:433-56
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    Cited by:

    1. Hannah Murphy & Aynsley Kellow, 2013. "Forum Shopping in Global Governance: Understanding States, Business and NGOs in Multiple Arenas," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 4(2), pages 139-149, May.
    2. Forere Malebakeng, 2013. "Revisiting African States Participation in the WTO Dispute Settlement through Intra-Africa RTA Dispute Settlement," The Law and Development Review, De Gruyter, vol. 6(2), pages 155-179, August.
    3. de Sépibus, Joëlle, 2012. "The UNFCCC at a Crossroads: Can Increased Involvement of Business and Industry Help Rescue the Multilateral Climate Regime?," Papers 429, World Trade Institute.
    4. Ekardt, Felix, 2012. "Sicherung sozial-ökologischer Standards durch Partizipation: Das Beispiel nichtstaatlicher Akteure im internationalen Recht," Study / edition der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf, volume 127, number 264, June.
    5. Eyal Benvenisti & George Downs, 2009. "Toward global checks and balances," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 366-387, September.

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