WTO与个人权利

WTO法调整的对象是国际贸易关系 ,其中享受权利、承担义务的主体是国家或非国家的独立关税区。然而 ,WTO并非因此与个人毫无关系。我们知道 ,WTO通过建立有效的法律制度推动自由贸易、减少政府对贸易的干预 ,恰恰使个人 (包括生产者、消费者、商人等 )从中受益。但在法律上 ,人们通常认为WTO并不为个人创设权利。本文却根据WTO的有关协定和案例讨论WTO法律框架下的个人权利 ,向我们展现了一个独特的研究WTO法的视角。

This articlediscusses the way in which the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO) prescribes rules for how governments treat private economic actors.Until recently,this transformative dimension of WTO law received little attention.Although most WTO law relates to how governments treat each other,there are a number of significant provisions about the treatment of companies and individuals,both nationals and aliens.Many of these provisions accord procedural rights and a few of them accord substantive rights. Understanding this important dimension of WTO law is important for at least three reasons.First,strengthening the relationship between trade rules and the individual will be vital for building public support for trade liberalization.Second,the provisions of the WTO regarding the individual help to strengthen the rule of law at the national level.Third,future trade disputes are likely to emerge from these provisions as private actors seek to vindicate their own rights.These trade provisions championing the individual will also provide the path for a greater harmony between international economic law and the law of human rights.