Longo, Michael (2007) Lessons for the WTO from Constitutional Developments in the European Union: Challenges of Legitimacy and the Conceptualization of Authority. Southern Cross University Law Review, 11. pp. 173-204. ISSN 1329-3737

Abstract

The World Trade Organization (WTO) finds itself at the centre of the globalization debate. The WTO's authority, particularly in relation to its dispute settlement provisions, has been the subject of criticism. The legitimacy of WTO decision-making is often called into question. Claims of illegitimacy of international decision-making and rules-based systems such as the WTO threaten the authority of international rule making, and therefore its effectiveness. Effectiveness is contingent upon acceptance of proper authority, compliance and enforcement. The legitimacy discourse is therefore central to the imperative of creating an effective international organization. This article is directed towards advancing the debate on whether damaging claims of illegitimacy are capable of being neutralized by recourse to relevant European Union (ED) experience. The article explores from comparative perspectives the degree to which the concepts of 'pooled sovereignty', 'subsidiarity', 'supremacy' and 'direct effect' with which the ED lawyer is especially familiar - might pwyide useful points of reference in a wider debate about understanding and dealing with some of the dilemmas and criticisms sun-olluding the functions and activities of the WTO.

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