Suttle, O. (2017) What sorts of things are Public Morals? A Liberal Cosmopolitan Approach to Art XX GATT. Modern Law Review, 80 (4). pp. 569-599. ISSN 1468-2230
Abstract
Existing theories of WTO law cannot adequately explain the form or content of the GATT exceptions, including in particular Article XX(a) Public Morals. Nor, in consequence, have they been able satisfactorily to answer the interpretive questions they raise. I argue we can understand Article XX in terms of self-determination. This, however, requires an account of self-determination as a political and moral value, and the choices it mandates peoples make for themselves. Drawing on debates in contemporary political philosophy, I distinguish three categories of argument for self-determination: intrinsic, expressive and instrumental. I draw out the implications of each for the scope of the choices a self-determining community must make for itself, deriving therefrom an account of the political and moral value of self-determination in trade regulation. I use that account to reconstruct Article XX, both explaining the individual provisions thereof, and suggesting how these might be developed and interpreted. I conclude by examining Article XX(a) in detail, highlighting the interpretive questions public morals pose, and the ways understanding Article XX in terms of self-determination suggests these should be answered.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 The Author / The Modern Law Review. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Modern Law Review. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | WTO; Self-determination; Political Theory; Cosmopolitanism; General Exceptions; Public Morals |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of Law (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 18 Nov 2016 11:38 |
Last Modified: | 13 Jul 2018 00:38 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.12275 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/1468-2230.12275 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:107477 |