dc.description.abstract | The fragmented nature of national and international legal and dispute settlement regimes, and the
formalistic nature of the customary international law rules on treaty interpretation and conflicts of
laws, offer little guidance on how national and international judges should respond to the
proliferation of competing jurisdictions and the resultant incentives for forum shopping and rule
shopping by governments and non-governmental actors in international economic law. Due to their
different jurisdictions, procedures and different rules of applicable laws, national and international
judges often interpret international trade law from different (inter)national, (inter)governmental,
constitutional and judicial perspectives. This paper explores the judicial functions of national and
international judges to reach justified decisions based on positive law, on the basis of transparent,
predictable and fair procedures, and to interpret international treaties “in conformity with principles
of justice.” Chapters I to III explain some of the “principles of justice” underlying international trade
law and argue that international rules for a mutually beneficial division of labour among private
citizens should be construed with due regard to the human rights obligations of governments.
Chapters III and IV propose to strengthen international cooperation among national and
international courts, for instance by negotiating additional WTO commitments to interpret domestic
trade laws in conformity with the WTO obligations of the countries concerned and to settle WTO
disputes over private rights primarily in domestic courts, without transforming essentially private
disputes into disputes among governments. | en |