is Íslenska en English

Lokaverkefni (Meistara)

Háskóli Íslands > Félagsvísindasvið > Meistaraprófsritgerðir - Félagsvísindasvið >

Vinsamlegast notið þetta auðkenni þegar þið vitnið til verksins eða tengið í það: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/14814

Titill: 
  • Titill er á ensku Trade and the Environment: The Environment within the World Trade Organization
Námsstig: 
  • Meistara
Leiðbeinandi: 
Útdráttur: 
  • Útdráttur er á ensku

    There is no special mentioning of the environment in the GATT Agreement. However the member states realize that there can be overriding reasons that justify deviations from the major principles and obligations of the Agreement. For the discussion on trade-related environmental disputes there are three exceptions of most importance within the GATT Agreement. Under these provisions the member states can take trade-related measures for environmentally protective reasons. These general exceptions under the GATT Agreement are under its article XX, i.e. paragraphs (b), (d) and (g). After discussing the WTO system´s organizational structure, I will consider the affects of the environment within trade negotiations. Trade negotiations under the GATT Agreement were mostly silent on environmental matters for the first decades of its existance, as trade policies dealt almost exclusively with the way manufactured goods were treated at state borders. However consistent with the development of environmental awareness as mentioned earlier, the GATT members started to consider the connection between trade and the environment. The WTO set the focus on domestic actions, the effect of non-tariff barriers on trade, including environmental measures on trade. Hence, the WTO affects the environmental character of trade and trade-related environmental issues through its Agreements. Not only international trade instruments cover the discussion of trade and environment. This relationship is also dealt with at regional and domestic levels, for example within the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the European Union (EU). For the discussion of this relationship between the two matters, one must consider the principles and mechanisms of the field of international environmental law. The global environmental legal system is the initiative of governments and other organizations, most easily detected in multilateral environmental agreements. To determine the governing principles of international environmental law I look at common trends that have developed in national, public international and transnational environmental regulatory instruments. As the environment is not mentioned within the GATT Agreement the WTO Dispute Settlement Body has played a large role in the interpretation of article XX´s exceptions. For concluding on the extent to which the WTO member states can consider it acceptable to deviate from general trade principles for the protection of the environment, I make an analysis of the exceptions through established case law. Finally a general discussion is given on the possibility of an analogous institution of the WTO, that would serve as a World Environmental Organization. Many have raised this question before, most of whom arguing that the WTO is inadequate to handle environmental issues, with its focus set on free trade rather than environmental considerations.

Athugasemdir: 
  • Ritgerð skal aðeins vera aðgengileg á skjá
Samþykkt: 
  • 6.5.2013
URI: 
  • http://hdl.handle.net/1946/14814


Skrár
Skráarnafn Stærð AðgangurLýsingSkráartegund 
ritgerdin.pdf483.42 kBOpinnMeginmálPDFSkoða/Opna
snidmat_forsida.pdf106.01 kBOpinnKápaPDFSkoða/Opna