DOMESTIC REGULATIONS UNDER THE GATS

ABSTRACT: The project aims at understanding the GATS impact on the domestic governance of trade and general business. Under the GATS the main concern of the contracting parties was the loss of sovereignty as a consequence of the limitation of the right to regulate their service sectors. This is so because the Domestic regulation could change the course of regulation and development, particularly in developing and vulnerable economies. By virtue of Article VI, contracting parties have to ensure that all regulatory measures affecting trade in services are administered in a reasonable, objective and impartial manner. Article VI on domestic regulation plays a key role in the opening of services markets. The regulatory practices should seek, not only to fulfill social and economic objectives, but also to reach trade liberalization as an instrument to develop an integrated, more viable and durable multilateral trading system. The GATS does not provide a definition of the concept 'domestic regulation' as utilized in Article VI; and there is no universally agreed definition of the term "regulation". The concern of the developing countries is the possible consequences of internationalizing domestic rule-making processes which would eventually allow the intervention of foreign governments. The project discusses at length Article VI and the issues relating to it.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: The researcher has employed the traditional doctrinal nature of research. Reference has been made to books from the library of National Law University, Delhi and to the online data bases.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS: What has been the effect, in general, of the Domestic Regulations on the trade in services? What has been the effect of the Domestic Regulations on the developing countries?

HYPOTHESIS:

Domestic Regulations have been in controversy because of they being restrictive in nature and also because of its effect on the developing countries. Moreover, the necessity principle which seems to be universally accepted has been controversial in the context of the Article VI:4 GATS. Thus, the researcher from the initial readings has deduced that the Domestic Regulations have more negative impact on the trade in services.

CHAPTERISATION The first chapter provides a brief overview of the topic, the research questions and the hypothesis. The second chapter contains conceptual understanding of Article VI GATS i.e. the working party on Domestic Regulation and objective functions of the same. The third chapter focuses on the issues relating to Domestic Regulation i.e. necessity test; transparency; equivalence etc and effect of Domestic Regulation on Developing Countries. The last chapter concludes the project and provides findings based on the research.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Delimatsis Panagiotis, Towards a horizontal necessity test for services: Completing the GATS Article VI: 4 mandate in Panizzon Marion, Pohl Nicole and Sauv Pierre (eds.), GATS and the Regulation in International Trade in Services, 2008, Cambridge University Press. Honeck, Dale, WTO Trade in Services Division, The GATS and necessity, March, 2004, available at

http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/workshop_march04_e/sess2_dale_e.ppt. World Trade Organization- WTO, General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) WTO, Article VI:4 of the GATS. www.wto.org http://www.gatswatch.org/GATSandDemocracy/domestic.html http://www.aftinet.org.au/cms/.../GATS_impacts_on_local_govt_Pickering03.pdf