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Seeking Mutual Understanding. A Discourse Theoretical Analysis of the WTO Dispute Settlement System

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  • Ceva, Emanuela
  • Fracasso, Andrea

Abstract

The Dispute Settlement System (DSS) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is a mechanism to settle international trade controversies by means of adversarial procedures. In this paper we aim to address the following question: why is the DSS adversarial in kind and articulated through such sophisticated procedures? We shall combine studies in the fields of politics, law and economics through philosophical analysis to look for a systemic answer to this question in the inherent qualities of the procedures through which the DSS is articulated. Specifically, we shall resort to Jürgen Habermas’s discourse theory, as a hermeneutic device to disentangle the different kinds of “action orientations” DS procedures may have (compromise, consensus and understanding). We shall identify the reasons of the specific characterisation given to the DSS in the purposeful connections between its procedural features, the general aims pursued by the WTO and the disputes emerging within it.

Suggested Citation

  • Ceva, Emanuela & Fracasso, Andrea, 2009. "Seeking Mutual Understanding. A Discourse Theoretical Analysis of the WTO Dispute Settlement System," MPRA Paper 14356, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:14356
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chios Carmody, 2008. "A Theory of WTO Law," Journal of International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(3), pages 527-557, September.
    2. Horn, Henrik & Mavroidis, Petros C., 2006. "A Survey of the Literature on the WTO Dispute Settlement System," Working Paper Series 684, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    3. Matsushita, Mitsuo & Schoenbaum, Thomas J. & Mavroidis, Petros C., 2006. "The World Trade Organization: Law, Practice, and Policy," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 2, number 9780199208005.
    4. Giovanni Maggi & Robert W. Staiger, 2008. "On the Role and Design of Dispute Settlement Procedures in International Trade Agreements," NBER Working Papers 14067, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Andrew G. Brown & Robert M. Stern, 2009. "Concepts of Fairness in the Global Trading System," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization And International Trade Policies, chapter 5, pages 109-149, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. Matsushita, Mitsuo & Schoenbaum, Thomas J. & Mavroidis, Petros C., 2006. "The World Trade Organization: Law, Practice, and Policy," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 2, number 9780199284566.
    7. Keck, Alexander & Schropp, Simon, 2007. "Indisputably essential: The economics of dispute settlement institutions in trade agreements," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2007-02, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    WTO; dispute settlement; discourse theory; trade controversies; mutual understanding;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F53 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations
    • F51 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Conflicts; Negotiations; Sanctions

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