WTO and human rights

Abstract

International law is a normative system but is more than a set of independent rules. Yet normative conflicts are endemic in international law. The international rules on world trade and human rights are often regarded as conflicting legal branches in the system of international law. Both sets of rules are distinct but not independent from each other and impacting the respective legal order. International human rights rules can constitute an impediment to trade liberalisation as established by the WTO. For instance, they could be used as a ground of justification for not exporting a good from a country that does not apply the same human rights standard. The Director General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, implies a more positive understanding of the two regimes by stating that “trade and human rights are mutually supportive”, which at least indicates a rather fruitful than opposing relationship.