The relationship between the general exceptions found within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and the obligations contained in the “specialized” goods texts of Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement has long been a matter of contention and legal uncertainty. Proponents of the...

This article addresses an important and complex subject relating to the link between international law and economic development. There is broad agreement that trade liberalization and participation in foreign markets play an important role in economic development. Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa...

There has been an explosive growth of free trade agreements (FTAs) in recent years. The World Trade Report 2011 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) shows Asian members to be among the most active in signing preferential trade agreements. This unprecedented growth has attracted much academic...

This paper explores and analyses the position of South Africa in relation to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute Settlement system, especially as the most active African WTO member in the application of WTO rules to disputes in the municipal (domestic) context. Despite being a relatively...

This paper examines whether, in the current environment of international economic law, Geographical Indications (GIs) as an Intellectual Property (IP) system can be used to protect forms of Traditional Knowledge (TK) in developing countries and achieve economic development for local communities....

The obligations of non-discrimination in international economic law hinge upon the question of what constitutes ‘like products'. It is not clear that it is appropriate to transpose the competition-oriented approach to product likeness or substitutability under Article III of GATT to other...

The latest generation of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTA) features a diversity of ‘deep integration' provisions, which mandate a wide range of border and behind-the-border regulatory and institutional reforms in areas such as food safety and technical standards, customs administration,...

Recently, it has become apparent to developing countries in the WTO that their limited bargaining power has, in fact, been a stumbling block to obtaining desired negotiation outcomes in the multilateral trade system. Thus, to execute any fundamental changes to the status quo, there was a need to...

The idea that a breach of the investor's ‘legitimate expectations' may be relevant in deciding upon a violation of an investment treaty has been recurrently put forward by claimants in investment treaty arbitrations and endorsed by a growing number of arbitral tribunals in the last few years....

The panel and the Appellate Body have recently examined one of the national tobacco control measures (US – Measures Affecting the Productions and Sale of Clove Cigarettes). The dispute, which emerged between the United States and Indonesia, concerned the US ban on the use of certain flavouring...