Suttle, Oisin (2017) What Sorts of Things are Public Morals? A Liberal Cosmopolitan Approach to Article XX GATT. The Modern Law Review, 80 (4). pp. 569-599.

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Abstract

Existing theories of WTO law cannot adequately explain the form or content of the GATT exceptions, in particular Article XX(a) Public Morals. Nor, in consequence, can they satisfactorily answer the interpretive questions they raise. This article explains Article XX in terms 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, it distinguishes three categories of argument for self-determination: intrinsic, expressive and instrumental, each having implications for the scope of the choices a self-determining community must make for itself. This account of self-determination in trade regulation is used to reconstruct Article XX, both explaining the individual provisions, and suggesting how these might be developed and interpreted. It concludes by examining Article XX(a) in detail, highlighting the interpretive questions public morals pose, and how understanding Article XX in terms of self-determination suggests these should be answered.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Public Morals; Liberal; Cosmopolitan; Article XX GATT;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Law
Item ID:	12318
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.12275
Depositing User:	Oisin Suttle
Date Deposited:	30 Jan 2020 16:46
Journal or Publication Title:	The Modern Law Review
Publisher:	John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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