The nexus between the WTO and the ECT in global energy governance

Abstract

This article discusses the nexus between the ECT and the WTO in global energy governance. The two treaty-based regimes each cover an area of the global energy governance patchwork. Moreover, they are connected in substance. While the former is concerned with providing a framework for the regulation of trade in virtually all goods and services, the latter offers a specialized regime for energy trade and investment regulation. Apart from discussing the origins of the ECT and its relationship to the WTO, the article examines where the treaties overlap and where they are at tension with each other. It does so in view of the changes that have taken place over the past two decades of their existence.