With a membership of 149 countries, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is the international organization with responsibility for the global rules of trade between nations. Its stated principal function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. Although established little more than ten years ago, the agreements negotiated under its auspices and, indeed, its very existence have been the source of tremendous controversy and debate, as well as violent demonstrations.
Edited by a leading scholar in the field, and former Director of the Appellate Body Secretariat of the WTO, this new Major Work from Routledge brings together in five volumes the very best scholarship on the WTO from economists, academic lawyers and other thinkers to examine its history (including its origins in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). The collection also makes available cutting-edge research about the fundamental principles on which the organization is based and explores the implications of the WTO’s policy and practice for domestic regulation and the sovereignty of individual states. The final two volumes collect work on the role of the WTO in dispute settlement and on the legitimacy and governance of the organization.
With an introduction, newly written by the editor, which places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, World Trade Organization is an essential collection destined to be valued by scholars, students and practitioners as a vital research resource.
