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Lookup NU author(s): Ilona Cheyne
It is nearly ten years since the first Tuna-Dolphin report found that unilateral trade measures for the protection of dolphins were in violation of GATT rules, thereby signalling the beginning of the modern trade-environment debate. Since that time the debate has developed and become more complex and subtle. The WTO Appellate Body has recently been called upon to decide a dispute which raises very similar issues to the Tuna-Dolphin case. The Appellate Body used language that was more open to the concerns of contemporary environmental problems than the Tuna-Dolphin reports. However, an analysis of its reasoning suggests that the acceptability of unilateral, and even multilateral, measures to protect the environment under the GATT rules may not be any greater than before. In addition, the Appellate Body’s reliance on multilateral environmental agreements and the principle of sustainable development, although broadly welcomed by environmentalists, poses significant problems as an interpretative technique.
Author(s): Cheyne IC
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Web Journal of Current Legal Issues
Year: 2000
Volume: 5
Date deposited: 10/12/2007
ISSN (print): 1360-1326
Publisher: Newcastle University
URL: http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/2000/issue5/cheyne5.html
