再论WTO执行法律本质:遵守抑或再平衡

The Legal Nature of WTO Enforcement Revisited: Compliance or Rebalancing

长期以来,学界对WTO执行的法律本质一直存在争论。遵守说倡导者主张WTO执行的目的是促使遵守争端解决机构专家组或上诉机构的裁决,并阻止未来对该协定的违反;再平衡说阵营则发现了WTO执行中固有的"补偿或履行"逻辑。分别考察论战双方的主张、理论基础和理论盲点后可以发现,争论源于其未对WTO两种不履行及相应后果加以区分。但是,过于强调WTO法某个特定方面,会造成对WTO一种误导、歪曲的看法。

The legal nature of WTO enforcement has been debated in academic circles for a long time. Compliance advocates maintain that the objective of WTO enforcement is to induce compliance with DSB panel AB rulings, and to deter future violations of the Agreement, while rebalancing camp detects an inherent ＂pay- or-perform＂ logic in WTO enforcement. This paper examines the contentions and theoretical foundations as well as theoretical blind spots on both sides separately. The paper concludes that, the debate has not made a dis- tinction between two kinds of non-performance and relevant consequences in the WTO. However, overemphasi- zing one particular aspect of the WTO law tends to create a misguided and distorted image of the WTO.