Essentials of WTO Law

The multilateral trading system and the WTO, its principal institution, are currently in crisis. Now more than ever, it is essential to provide a sound understanding of WTO rules and procedures, and their contribution to a secure and predictable framework for trading relations between nations. This book provides a timely and carefully considered overview of the substantive rules and institutional arrangements of the WTO, written in a concise and highly reader-friendly manner. It provides a clear and systematic discussion of key issues of WTO law, and incorporates important case law and current debates. It includes useful pedagogical features such as illustrative examples of the application of the legal framework to practical situations to facilitate understanding, as well as lists of further reading. Co-written by a leading authority in the field, it forms essential reading for anyone who wants to get to grips with this fascinating and challenging field of law.

Peter Van den Bossche was a judge on the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization, the highest judicial body for international trade disputes, from 2009 to 2019. He is the author (with Werner Zdouc) of The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization, 5th edition (2022). He is Director of Studies of the World Trade Institute of the University of Bern, and President of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL).

Denise Prévost has nineteen years' experience developing and teaching WTO law courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level for law and political sciences students, both in the Netherlands and abroad. She has also developed and taught training modules on WTO law for government officials and other professionals. She is the author of several publications on issues of WTO law, and has carried out consultancy and capacity-building work for national, European, and international bodies.