Law and its limitations in the GATT multilateral trade system

This work is an adaptation in English - brought up to date to the end of 1984 - of a series of lectures delivered at the Hague Academy of International Law and published in French in its 'Collected Courses' 1983 IV, Volume 182. For a practitioner in the field of trade policy, an invitation to the Hague Academy was an honour to which he could not fail to be responsive.

It was at the same time an intellectual challenge which it was tempting to accept. For a former Director-General of GATT, it was also an invitation to draw on his twelve years experience and to weigh the relationship between law and policy in the international trade system.

GATT is sometimes considered an organization surrounded by a certain secrecy. The reason is evident. The complexities of GATT law, the particularity of its procedures, and the important rôle of negotiation in its operation, make it difficult for those without a knowledge of the workings of GATT from the inside to unravel its mysteries.

The purpose of this book is to throw the maximum light on the GATT, to show what it is, what it does and how it functions. It aims to present GATT in its essentials without, however, neglecting the individual characteristics of its rules, procedures and modus operandi.