Effects of the WTO Agreements in the European Union Legal Order

Abstract

Agreements concluded in the context of the World Trade Organisation (WTO Agreements) are part of the EU legal order, but, given their character and objectives, their position in this legal order is specific. Unlike other international agreements concluded by the Union, their direct effect is, according to the case-law of the Court of Justice, excluded. Despite this exclusion, the Court of Justice has established the so-called Fediol and Nakajima exceptions, which allow the legality of measures adopted by EU institutions to be reviewed in the light of the WTO Agreements if the Union intended to implement a particular obligation assumed in the context of the WTO or if the EU measure expressly refers to specific provisions of the WTO Agreements. Moreover, the effectiveness of the WTO Agreements is also achieved through indirect effect of those agreements, which means that the relevant EU legislation as well as national legislation must be, as far as possible, interpreted in accordance with those agreements. Although the scope of application of indirect effect is, in this context, limited, since direct effect of WTO Agreements is excluded, it is an instrument of great importance in the application of those agreements in the EU legal order.