In this reissued edition of the classic work Developing Countries in the GATT Legal System, Robert E. Hudec's clear insight on the situation of developing countries within the international trade system is once again made available. Hudec is regarded as one of the most prominent commentators on the evolution of the current international trade regime, and this long out-of-print book offers his analysis of the dynamics playing out between developed and developing nations. A significant contribution when the book was first published, this work continues to serve as a thoughtful and important guide to how current and future trade policy must seriously adapt to the demands of the developing world. This new edition includes a new introduction by J. Michael Finger that examines Hudec's work to understand how the GATT got into its current historical-institutional predicament and the lasting impact of his work on current research on international trade systems.

This volume is a comprehensive account of developing countries and their positioning within the WTO legal system. It comprises chapters by a number of leading experts in the law and economics of international trade who reflect on Robert Hudec's groundbreaking 1987 book Developing Countries in the GATT Legal System, and offers political, economic, and legal perspectives on Hudec's legacy.

The study presents a critical review on the problems stemming from the nature and scope of the WTO remedies, and highlights in a comparative perspective the lacunas and inadequacies in the substantive and procedural aspects of WTO dispute settlement system.

"This book presents a history and analysis of the GATT legal system as it stands today at the beginning of the 1990s. Although the origins of GATT law go back to the GATT/ITO negotiations of 1946-1948 and beyond, the current legal system is largely the product of a reconstruction that took place from 1970 onwards. The book focuses on the evolution of GATT law during this modern period. It concentrates on the development of GATT's procedure for adjudicating legal disputes between member countries, known in GATT parlance as the "dispute settlement procedure". -- from the Preface, p. vii.

How did a treaty that emerged in the aftermath of the Second World War, and barely survived its early years, evolve into one of the most influential organisations in international law? This unique book brings together original contributions from an unprecedented number of eminent current and former GATT and WTO staff members, including many current and former Appellate Body members, to trace the history of law and lawyers in the GATT/WTO and explore how the nature of legal work has evolved over the institution's sixty-year history. In doing so, it paints a fascinating portrait of the development of the rule of law in the multilateral trading system, and allows some of the most important personalities in GATT and WTO history to share their stories and reflect on the WTO's remarkable journey from a 'provisionally applied treaty' to an international organisation defined by its commitment to the rule of law.

With contributions from some of the leading experts in international trade, law, and economics, Joel P. Trachtman and Chantal Thomas have compiled a comprehensive volume that looks at the positioning of developing countries within the WTO system. These chapters address some of the most pressing issues facing these countries, while reflecting on Robert E. Hudec's groundbreaking book, Developing Countries in the GATT Legal System. In his landmark contribution, Hudec argued against preferential and non-reciprocal treatment for developing countries. He did so on the basis of a combination of economic, political and legal insights that persuasively demonstrated that non-reciprocal treatment would not benefit developing countries. It is a testament to Hudec's legacy that his analysis is still the object of scholarly discussion more than 20 years later. The first part of this book evaluates the general situation of developing countries within the WTO. The second part examines market access and competition law within these countries. Lastly, it discusses the special arrangements these countries have with international financial institutions, the developing country's capacity to litigate, and an analysis of the country's level of participation in WTO dispute settlements.