The modern global economy and the international community have become a function of interdependence. Interdependence arises in the mutual reliance of actors upon each other. It is, on the other hand, a difficult subject to address. In this chapter, the author analyzes the famous cases of the volcano eruption in Iceland and the Japanese tsunami. Greater interdependence seems to be the product of WTO concessions and commitments. According to the resolution of several WTO-related matters, countries seem to understand something that may presage a greater role for qualitative as opposed to quantitative measures of trade benefit in future. On the other hand, interdependence cannot be considered a neutral value. It needs to be constantly questioned and re-evaluated going forward. Looking at the WTO, it is easily understandable that it is not simply an organization devoted to the exchange of trade concessions and the measurement of their interaction in quantitative terms. It has opened up to a dispute settlement system in which the WTO Agreement functions as a legal system. In the author’s opinion law, including WTO law, traditionally has difficulty dealing with interdependence due to the atomized way in which law is arranged. It has to be noted that no clear picture of interdependence has emerged in WTO law yet. It is a polarizing subject, one which tugs in different directions, although more recently there are some indications that it is being accorded attention in WTO thinking. The study is based on the idea that a legal system’s stress upon ‘rights’ and ‘obligations’ obscures the natural way in which these two basic legal elements interact and are, in their operation, themselves a manifestation of interdependence. Bearers of individual rights and obligations need them to regulate their relationship, and a single ‘right’ or ‘obligation’ will be sustained by many other supporting rights and obligations. These can be thought of coordinately as the basic elements of a legal system.
PDFPDFStay tuned for news on sustainable development, environment and climate change, international trade and human rights, Chinese issues and much more!
.png)
