Halal food certification as an exception clause under the rule of the WTO-GATT: An Indonesia experience

Abstract

Halal food certification is widely known as a popular trade policy to protect Muslim consumers within a State. However, this policy is sometimes considered restrictive under the WTO-GATT. This paper examines the legality of the halal food certification and the possibility of utilising it as an exception clause. This study uses descriptive-analytical legal research to examine halal food certification as an exception clause under Article XX (a) WTO-GATT. Furthermore, this paper will describe the public morality exception clause norm under GATT in a descriptive manner, followed by an analytical approach toward the possibility of halal food certification as its norm. The study found that halal food certification is a legitimate trade policy under the WTO-GATT regime primarily to protect public morality within a state. Using Indonesia’s experience, this study is expected to give a legal basis for States to initiate halal food certification trade policies to protect their internal interest without conflict with WTO-GATT.