Holger Hestermeyer

Los Derechos Economicos, Sociales y Culturales en la Organización Mundial del Comercio

The article analyzes the complex relationship between the legal regime of international human rights law, particularly under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the system of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the first part, the author addresses this issue from a normative perspective and seeks to answer whether the WTO is bound by the ICESCR and if the Covenant can be applied in WTO dispute settlement to justify violations of WTO law. In the second part the author empirically analyzes the extent of the use of human rights arguments in the debates of WTO bodies, using the documents of the WTO database. In the conclusions the author presents the results of his inquiry.

Towards a UK Trade Policy Post-Brexit: The Beginning of a Complex Journey

Trade has had a stunning return to the spotlight since the results of the Brexit referendum were announced. While it is much too early to speak of failure or success of the UK’s trade policy, we allege that the current debate shows a lack of understanding of modern international trade law and policy. This in turn leads to a lack of appreciation of the tasks ahead for the UK. The limited aim of this short article is to point out the scope of some of the key challenges and the complexities that the UK will face on the road towards a post-Brexit trade policy. We consider a proper appreciation of these complexities to be vital for a transparent, fair and inclusive formulation of the UK’s trade policies, which will determine not only the UK’s economic fate, but also the UK’s laws and many of its domestic policies for decades to come.

Law of the sea in dialogue

Global Warming: C. Tomuschat: Global Warming and State Responsibility.- M. Bothe: Measures to Fight Climate Change - A Role for the Law of the Sea?- J. Brunnee: An Agreement in Principle? The Copenhagen Accord and the Post-2012 Climate Regime.- F.L. Morrison: The Reluctance of the United States to Ratify Treaties.- Exploitation and Use of the Global Commons: G. Hafner: The Division of the Commons? The Myth of the Commons: Divide or Perish.- T. Treves: Judical Action for the Common Heritage.- Law of the Sea and Security: M.H. Arsanjani, W.M. Reisman: East African Piracy and the Defense of World Public Order.- T.A. Mensah: Piracy at Sea - a New Approach to an Old Menace.- J.A. Frowein: The Security Council and the Security on the Seas.