Transparency in the WTO Decision-Making

21 Pages Posted: 9 Feb 2012 Last revised: 11 Jun 2012

See all articles by Panos Delimatsis

Panos Delimatsis

Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC); Tilburg Law School

Date Written: February 9, 2012

Abstract

In its less than 20 years of existence, the WTO has managed to draw public attention. Transparency in the WTO decision-making has been in the agenda of the multilateral trading system for several years. Pressures from developing countries and nongovernmental organizations in particular have led to significant improvements towards more openness and participation in the WTO decision-making. This paper is intended to posit the WTO within the current debates about more institutional transparency in international organizations (IOs). It discusses the current features of good governance in the WTO and the consensus rule in particular, in an attempt to identify the pros and cons of this voting tradition in a modern IO. A central view of the paper is that input and output transparency of the WTO could be further enhanced by increased participation of non-governmental organizations. As the WTO is gradually becoming a genuine IO in terms of membership and gets involved in global discussions relating to finance, climate change or poverty eradication, public scrutiny will only increase and thus more good governance is an irreversible process. Some thoughts about the future prospects of and possible avenues for the WTO system are also identified.

Keywords: WTO, decision-making, input transparency, output transparency, good governance

JEL Classification: F02, F13, F51, F53, F59, K33

Suggested Citation

Delimatsis, Panagiotis, Transparency in the WTO Decision-Making (February 9, 2012). TILEC Discussion Paper No. 2012-006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2001919 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2001919

Panagiotis Delimatsis (Contact Author)

Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC) ( email )

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0031 13 466 8047 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/staff/p-delimatsis

Tilburg Law School ( email )

Warandelaan 2
Postbus 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/staff/p-delimatsis

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