WTO协定在国内法院的适用:中国入世廿年的理论与实践

Application of WTO Agreement in Domestic Courts: Theory and Practice in the Past 20 Years after China’s Accession to WTO

2002年《最高人民法院关于审理国际贸易行政案件若干问题的规定》明确规定,人民法院应当依据法律、行政法规以及地方性法规审理国际贸易行政案件。据此,WTO协定被排除在可适用的法律渊源之外,此前关于国内法院是否适用WTO协定的争议就此告一段落。中国入世之后20年的司法实践表明,该规定在发挥积极作用的同时,引发了进一步的理论争议。特别是,该规定所引入的一致性解释原则并未在司法实践中产生实质影响。在司法实践越来越趋向于完全排除WTO协定国内直接适用的情况下,如果不能利用一致性解释原则缓和国内法与国际法之间的紧张关系,则很难为统筹推进国内法治和涉外法治,协调推进国内治理和国际治理打下良好的基础。当前有必要进一步明确WTO协定不可适用的范围和程度,将遮蔽的法律问题揭示出来,同时强调一致性解释原则在涉外案件中的不可或缺性。

The 2002 Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Trial of Administrative Cases Concerning International Trade clearly stipulates that the people’s courts shall hear administrative cases concerning international trade in accordance with laws,administrative regulations and local regulations.Thus,the WTO Agreement is excluded from the applicable sources of law,putting an end to the previous dispute over the applicability of the WTO Agreement to domestic courts.The judicial practice in the past 20 years after China’s accession to WTO shows that the regulation has not only played a positive role,but also caused further theoretical controversies.In particular,the principle of consistent interpretation introduced by this provision has not produced substantial influence in judicial practice.Under the situation that the judicial practice tends to completely exclude the direct application of WTO agreement,if the principle of consistency interpretation cannot be used to ease the tension between domestic law and international law,it will be difficult to lay a good foundation for the coordinated promotion of domestic and foreign rule of law,as well as the coordinated promotion of domestic and international governance.At present,it is necessary to further clarify the scope and extent of the inapplicability of WTO agreements,to reveal the legal issues covered by the WTO agreements,and to emphasize the indispensability of the principle of consistent interpretation in foreign-related cases.