World Trade Organization
From MMILC
Note that when referring to the World Trade Organization, always use the American spelling as this is its official name.
Contents |
Founding Agreements of the World Trade Organization
General Rule
| Rule | Founding agreements of the World Trade Organization should be cited in the following form:
<Agreement Name>, opened for signature <Full date>, <Treaty series citation> (entered into force <Full date>), annex <no> (Annex Title) <Treaty series citation> <Pinpoint> ('<Agreement Short Title>'). |
| Examples | Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, opened for signature 15 April 1994, 1867 UNTS 3 (entered into force 1 January 1995) (' Marrakesh Agreement ').
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, opened for signature 15 April 1994, 1867 UNTS 3 (entered into force 1 January 1995), annex 1A (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) 1867 UNTS 190 (' GATT 1994 '). Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, opened for signature 15 April 1994, 1867 UNTS 3 (entered into force 1 January 1995), annex 2 (Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes) 1869 UNTS 401 (' Dispute Settlement Understanding '). |
NOTE:
- The Marrakesh Agreement is an umbrella agreement establishing the WTO.
- The following agreements are annexed to the 'Marrakesh Agreement:
- Goods, services and intellectual property;
- The dispute settlement understanding;
- The trade policy review mechanism;
- The plurilateral agreement.
- Annex 1A includes the GATT 1994, an agreement which incorporates and supercedes the text of the earlier General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, opened for signature 30 October 1947, 55 UNTS 187 (entered into force 29 July 1948) (' GATT 1947 ').
- There is also an institution known as 'GATT'
- This refers, collectively, to the states who were parties to the GATT 1947.
- Bear in mind that, unlike the WTO, this GATT was never an actual institution with an independent identity, headquarters and employees.
- Rather, it was simply a group of states.
- References to 'GATT disputes', 'GATT decisions', and so on before 1994 relate to disputes between signatories to GATT 1947, resolved by a kind of private arbitration mechanism provided for in the treay.
Subsequent References
| Rule |
<Agreement Short Title>, above n <fn no>, <Pinpoint>. |
| Example | GATT 1994, above n 17, art III:4. |
Official Documents of the World Trade Organization
General Rule
| Rule | Official documents of the World Trade Organization should be cited in the following form:
<Document title>, WTO Doc <Document symbol(s)> (<Full date>) [<Pinpoint>] (<Description of the document>). NOTE:
|
| Examples | United States — Safeguard Measures on the Imports of Fresh, Chilled or Frozen Lamb Meat from New Zealand and Australia, WTO Doc WT/DS177/AB/R, WT/DS178/AB/R, AB-2001-1 (1 May 2001) [21] (Report of the Appellate Body).
European Communities — Measures Concerning Meat and Meat Products (Hormones), WTO Doc WT/DS26/AB/R, WT/DS48/AB/R, AB-2000-11 (16 January 1998) [123] (Report of the Appellate Body) (' EC — Hormones '). European Communities — Conditions for the Granting of Tariff Preferences to Developing Countries, WTO Doc WT/DS246/AB/R, AB-2004-1 (7 April 2004) (Report of the Appellate Body) (' EC — Tariff Preferences '). Council for Trade in Services, Guidelines for the Scheduling of Specific Commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services, WTO Doc S/L/92 (23 March 2001) (Explanatory Note). |
Subsequent References
| Rule |
If a WTO document is cited often:
<Document title>, WTO Doc <no(s)> (<Full date>) [<Pinpoint>] (<Sescription of the document>) ('<Abbreviated Document Name>').
<Abbreviated Document Name>, WTO Doc <no(s)> (<Full date>) [<Pinpoint>] (<Description of the document>). |
| Example | EC — Hormones, WTO Doc WT/DS26/AB/R, WT/DS48/AB/R, AB-2000-11 (16 January 1998) [123] (Report of the Appellate Body). |
Location
Homepage
WTO Agreements
- The legal texts of the WTO are available at:
WTO Documents
- An online documents database allows users to search for and browse WTO documents:
WTO Disputes
- A web page is created for every dispute brought before the WTO. Disputes are indexed chronologically, by subject and by country:
| The Melbourne University Law Review Association and the Australian Guide to Legal Citation do not endorse these rules and the rules contained in the MMILC do not in any way modify or change the rules contained in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation |
