'auteure adresse ses sincères remerciements à Adelle Blackett, Rob Howse, Brian Langille et Ryan Liss, qui l'ont aidée à développer les idées présentées dans cet article, ainsi qu'à Chi Carmody, Alvaro Santos et Corinne Vargha, aux trois relecteurs anonymes qui ont examiné son manuscrit, ainsi qu'à ses divers interlocuteurs au sein des facultés de droit de l'Université McGill et de l'Université Western Ontario de leurs remarques précieuses sur des versions préliminaires du présent texte. Les articles paraissant dans la Revue internationale du Travail n'engagent que leurs auteurs, et leur publication ne signifie pas que le BIT souscrit aux opinions qui y sont exprimées.
Labour lawyers have raised concerns that the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has the potential to limit member States' ability to respond to violations of (international) labour rights/standards, both at home and abroad. But its Appellate Body has interpreted WTO law to “permit pluralism”, preserving Members' right to regulate. This jurisprudence has carved out “policy space” for Members, broadened the scope of doctrinal exceptions and blunted the force of disciplines that seek deep integration through regulatory coordination/coherence. These moves mean that numerous labour‐protecting measures are likely to be legal under WTO law, diminishing the potential conflict between multilateral trade law and labour law.
The World Trade Organization is at an important institutional crossroads, buffeted by critique and with its once-heralded dispute system in doubt. Despite some achievements at the 2022 MC12 Ministerial Conference, the WTO appears in crisis, without a strong institutional mandate. In this Article, we offer a vision for its future, rooted in a particular interpretation of its past. The WTO's legal architecture is characterized by a resilient pluralism, which seeks to preserve diversity of governance models and regulatory approaches, both economic and political, in the domestic orders of member states. Despite strong pressures to impose a neoliberal vision of the state-market relationship on states, this pluralism has persevered; it offers a response to the WTO's critics and a mandate for the WTO's future.
Resumen
Los Acuerdos de la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC) pueden limitar la capacidad de sus Estados Miembros para reaccionar ante violaciones de los derechos y normas (internacionales) del trabajo tanto en su territorio como en el extranjero. Se expone aquí cómo el Órgano de Apelación de la OMC ha interpretado esos Acuerdos con un enfoque «pluralista», preservando el derecho de los Miembros a legislar, ampliando el alcance de las excepciones generales y atenuando los efectos desreguladores de ciertas disposiciones. Numerosas medidas de protección del trabajo podrían pues ser compatibles con las obligaciones de no discriminación del derecho mercantil internacional.
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