WTO law in context: The integration of international human rights and environmental law in the dispute settlement process

This chapter presents a commentary on the general topic of how the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO) relates to other branches of international law, in particular human rights and environmental law. This topic has attracted an incredible number of academic and professional contributions since the notorious and controversial General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) panel report in US – Tuna (Mexico), which predates the setting up of the current system of dispute resolution under WTO. In the ten years that have passed since the establishment of the WTO, scholarly debate on this subject has continued unabated, and this author shares part of the responsibility for overburdening his peers with large doses of academic writings on trade and international norms on environmental protection and human rights.