The role of law in international trade relations and the establishment of the Legal Affairs Division of the GATT

‘Why does the GATT not have a legal affairs division?’ I asked Olivier Long, the Director-General of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that question at a staff meeting not long after I joined the GATT Secretariat in 1973. To my surprise, my new colleagues reacted with laughter. I was bewildered and deeply embarrassed. What was wrong with my question? Did all other international organisations not have a legal department? After the meeting, Stuart Robinson, who later headed the GATT’s Council Affairs Division, put his arm around my shoulder and said: ‘You know, Frieder, people here do not believe in law. They believe in pragmatism.’