BISHOP STUART UNIVERSTY

NAME: TURIHAMWE ROBERT

REG NO: 23/BSU/PGPAM/2950

COURSEUNIT:

LECTURER:

YEAR: ONE

SEMESTER: ONE

Assignment question

Examine the role of the following organs in the international political economy.

a) World Trade Organization

b) Non-Governmental Organization
 a)

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates

and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations
System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that
govern international trade. It officially commenced operations on 1 January 1995, pursuant to
the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement, thus replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT) that had been established in 1948. The WTO is the world's largest
international economic organization, with 164 member states representing over 98% of global
trade and global GDP.

The WTO facilitates trade in goods, services and intellectual property among participating
countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements, which usually aim to
reduce or eliminate tariffs, quotas, and other restrictions; these agreements are signed by
representatives of member governments and ratified by their legislatures. The WTO also
administers independent dispute resolution for enforcing participants' adherence to trade
agreements and resolving trade-related disputes. The organization prohibits discrimination
between trading partners, but provides exceptions for environmental protection, national
security, and other important goals.

The WTO's headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland. Its top decision-making body is the
Ministerial Conference, which is composed of all member states and usually convenes
biennially; consensus is emphasized in all decisions. Day-to-day functions are handled by the
General Council, made up of representatives from all members. A Secretariat of over 600
personnel, led by the Director-General and four deputies, provides administrative,
professional, and technical services. The WTO's annual budget is roughly 220 million USD,
which is contributed by members based on their proportion of international trade.

The WTO provides a common platform to negotiate trade agreements among member
countries and to resolve any trade disputes. It manages 60 global and about 300 regional trade
agreements. The 60 trade agreements are accorded the status of international law. The WTO
comprises 164 member states. There are also observer states that are not signatories to the
WTO agreements, and they do not participate in free trade.
Structure of the World Trade Organization

The Ministerial Conference

The Ministerial Conference of the WTO meets every two years to make important decisions
about existing trade agreements. The Ministerial Conference holds the authority to make
decisions on any aspects of all multilateral agreements made under the WTO.

The Conference includes representatives from all members of the WTO. It gives equal
representation to all its members regardless of the size of their economy or share in
international trade. It can be thought of as the legislative branch of the WTO. The 12th
Ministerial Conference is now scheduled to take place in June 2021 in Kazakhstan.

The WTO is headed by the Ministerial Conference, while the daily operations are carried out
by three administrative bodies:

General Council

The General Council comprises the representatives of all member countries and acts as the
representative of the Ministerial Conference when it comes to daily operations. Its job is to
carry out the implementation and monitoring function of the WTO.

The General Council is further divided into multiple councils and committees that focus on
specific topics. Examples of such bodies include the Council on Goods, the Councils on
Services, the Committee on Textiles under the Council on Goods, etc.

Dispute Settlement Body

The Dispute Settlement Body is a part of the General Council and is responsible for settling
trade disputes between member states. There is also an Appellate Body, where member states
can appeal any decisions made against them during a dispute settlement.

Trade Policy Review Body

The Trade Policy Review Body is also a part of the General Council and is responsible for
ensuring the trade policies of member states are in line with the goals of the WTO. Member
countries are required to inform the WTO about changes in their laws and trade policies.

The body undertakes regular reviews of the policies to ensure they conform to the rules of the
WTO. This is part of the monitoring function of the WTO, and it helps the WTO to adapt to
the changing economic landscape.
Functions of the WTO

The WTO’s functions can be broadly divided into the following categories:

Trade Negotiations

The WTO facilitates trade negotiations among countries by providing a framework to

structure the agreements, as well as providing dispute resolution mechanisms. It creates an
international legal framework that ensures the smooth exchange of goods and services among
the member countries.

Implementation and Monitoring

Once the agreements are negotiated, the job of the WTO is to ensure that the signatory
countries adhere to their commitments in practice. It also produces research based on the
impact of the agreements on the economies of the countries involved.

Dispute Settlement

The WTO also acts as a dispute settlement body when there is a trade conflict between its
member states. The members of the WTO can file complaints against other member states if
they feel the trade and economic policies of a country are divergent from their commitments
under one of the agreements of the WTO. Following the complaint, there are formal hearings
like a court until a settlement is reached.

Building Trade Capacity

The WTO runs special programs to support developing countries by helping them build the
capacity to participate in free trade with more developed countries. It also gives concessions
under certain agreements to low-development countries to ease them into free trade with
other countries.

Outreach

Finally, the WTO carries out lobbying and outreach across the world as a part of its larger
objectives to promote free trade. They try to persuade governments to reduce barriers to trade
to free, fair, and open markets around the world.

Trade Negotiations

The WTO serves as a platform for member countries to negotiate trade agreements, aiming to
reduce barriers to international trade and ensure fair competition. For example, the Uruguay
Round (1986-1994) resulted in the creation of the WTO and led to the establishment of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as its foundation. This round significantly
lowered trade barriers and established new rules for international trade.

Dispute Resolution

The WTO provides a mechanism for resolving disputes among member countries related to
trade issues, helping to prevent trade wars and ensuring that countries abide by agreed-upon
rules. In the Boeing-Airbus dispute, the WTO facilitated the resolution of conflicts between
the United States and the European Union regarding government subsidies provided to their
respective aircraft manufacturers.

Trade Policy Review

The WTO conducts regular reviews of the trade policies and practices of its member
countries, promoting transparency and providing a platform for discussions on potential trade
issues. Periodic reviews of China's trade policies, including discussions on issues such as
intellectual property rights and market access, provide a forum for member countries to raise
concerns and seek clarification.

Monitoring and Surveillance

The WTO monitors global trade trends and economic policies to identify potential trade
issues and facilitate informed decision-making by member countries. Monitoring reports on
protectionist measures taken by member countries during the global financial crisis of 2008-
2009 helped prevent a widespread increase in trade barriers.

Technical Assistance and Capacity Building

The WTO provides technical assistance and capacity-building support to developing

countries to help them participate effectively in international trade negotiations and comply
with trade rules. The WTO's Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) assists the least
developed countries in building trade-related capacity and infrastructure to better integrate
into the global trading system.

Trade Facilitation

The WTO aims to simplify and streamline customs procedures and other trade-related
regulations, reducing transaction costs and enhancing the efficiency of global trade. The
Trade Facilitation Agreement, concluded during the WTO's Bali Ministerial Conference in
2013, aims to expedite the movement, release, and clearance of goods, providing significant
benefits to businesses engaged in international trade.

b)

In the present time, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play an important role in

international economic relations. They affect the international system by monitoring state
performance or advocating new policy agendas. The work of NGOs focuses on a variety of
fields, e.g. economy, human rights, development, and the environment. Their activities have
also found a prominent place in the WTO (World Trade Organisation) and in the United
Nations system. The recognition of NGO’s de facto (factual) influence in international
relations and the absence of international regulation for their creation and activity are the
reasons why it is particularly important to establish their de iure (legal) status in international
economic law, including their rights and obligations.

NGOs refers to “organisations founded by private individuals, which are independent from
states, oriented towards the rule of law, pursue public rather than private goals, and possess
minimal organisational structure”. Concerning their reach, one may further distinguish
between national and international NGOs, depending on whether the goals and the
organisational structure transcend national boundaries or not.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) concept was first used in the United Nations
Charter, which established the organization and provided a description of the UN itself, in
1948. The term “NGO” now refers to organizations like the UN and other coalitions of
concerned citizens working together for a common goal without intervention from the
government.

The goals of NGOs are frequently charitable or to further a social cause. Even while some
NGOs are funded by the government, they are all run as nonprofit organizations with specific
missions and objectives. This sets NGOs apart from businesses, whose main goal is profit.
NGOs may collaborate with businesses or governmental organizations, like the United States
Agency for Development (USAID), which provides funding to local non-profits and NGOs to
carry out a variety of activities to promote the development of the economy and communities
in the world outside the United States
Types of NGOs

NGOs can be categorized based on the activities they engage in, or how they act, such as
campaigning to protect human rights, the environment, etc. Based on the NGOs’ levels of
operation, we have classified them here:

Operational NGOs

Operational NGOs concentrate on starting projects. These initiatives can be developmental

which means they enhance a specific area of society, such as business, or politics, or they can
address humanitarian crises, such as those that arise during a time of conflict. NGOs can take
a top-down (where international players carry out predetermined operations) or bottom-up
(where the procedure is decided after careful context observation and development with local
actors) approach. The following are the subtypes of operational NGOs;

a) Community-based NGOs

Community-based NGOs (CBOs) are examples of operational NGOs. These NGOs, also
known as Grassroots Organizations, typically operate locally and choose a local membership
group, or the goal, to assist in the planning and execution of their projects. women’s
organizations, sports teams, neighborhood groups, and educational or religious organizations
are some examples of CBOs.

b) City-wide NGOs

City-wide NGOs are focused on the entire city and maybe commercial coalitions,
associations of community organizations, chambers of trade and industry, or associations of
racial or educational organizations.

c) National NGOs

NGOs that operate across a country are called national NGOs. Examples of national NGOs
include the Red Cross and Young Men Cristian Associations (YMCA). They have state-
based and duty-based branches, and some of them assist adjacent NGOs.

d) International NGOs

International NGOs frequently finance regional NGOs, organizations, and a variety of

initiatives. The initiatives themselves must also be implemented by them. Save the Children,
CARE, and OXFAM are a few examples of international NGOs.
Advocacy NGOs

Advocacy NGOs advocate for a particular cause and work to persuade state actors to change
various aspects of the system (the economy, election processes, environmental politics, and
the law) in favor of their causes. The term “lobby group” refers to a collection of persons who
can affect public policy through political or verbal influence.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that advocate for resolving global disparities are
also known as advocacy NGOs. These groups also represent the interests of businesses or
industries at events like intergovernmental summits. Businesses and Industry NGOs, or
BINGOs, are the common name for these organizations. Amnesty International is an
advocacy NGO working at the international level for the protection of human rights.

As mentioned above, NGOs play important and varied roles. They are invited as observers to
the meetings of global international economic organisations or to participate in side-debates.
They are also admitted to present observations in state to state dispute settlements as amicus
curiae (a person who is not one of the litigants but is interested in the issue, files a brief or
participates in the argumentation of the case). An example of this is provided by the famous
WTO’s US – Shrimp case in which the US attached to its appellant’s submission amicus
curiae observations from three groups of NGOs (Oesch, 2014, p. 3; Qureschi & Evans, 1999,
p. 200). These observations were accepted by the Appellate Body as part of the US
submission. In a more general way, we can distinguish between the role of NGOs in the
formation of new international law at international level, the role of NGOs in the creation of
new international law at national level, and the international verification and monitoring
function of NGOs.

NGOs participation in the WTO

The increasingly active role of NGOs in dispute settlement proceedings can be seen as a
consequence of the criticism on the working of the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade), the WTO, particularly strong at the Seattle Ministerial Conference in 1999. This
reason can also explain the readiness to allow the participation of NGOs in meetings and
debates. A similar explanation is the one provided by Mehta (2001, p. 1-2). He argues that,
because various interest groups feel that their governments do not adequately respect their
interests internationally, there is a need to create a separate entity which advocates for those
overlooked interests in the international community.
Problems of legitimacy

After this assessment of the role of NGOs in international economic relations, particularly in
the WTO, it is important to analyse some additional problems arising from the mentioned
participation, particularly whether there are legitimacy issues regarding NGOs. For this
reason, it is worth asking: How representative are NGOs? How are they financed? Are there
satisfactory checks and balances in terms of their increased lobbying power? These questions
are complicated to answer due to the fact that NGOs are not transparent, consequently, it is
difficult to precisely verify how their creation and activity is conducted and whose interests
they ultimately pursue. It is also true that NGOs rarely possess a democratic mandate and
their internal structures are often not resulting from democratic procedures. Nevertheless, this
does not cause fundamental problems and represents no reason against their participation in
international law-making and law enforcement.

International regulation

NGOs are generally not regarded as subjects of international law. Their legal status is not
determined by international but by national law. Nevertheless, some regulations can be found
at the international level, which differ from area to area and from organisation to
organisation. For example, within the United Nations (UN) system, Article 71 of the UN
Charter establishes that the ECOSOC may make suitable arrangements for consultation with
NGOs. The ECOSOC, therefore, is the organ responsible for granting NGOs formal access to
the UN.

With regards to the accountability of NGOs specifically, cases like the Brent Spar incident in
1995 give rise to serious questions. In that particular case, Greenpeace acted on incorrect
information and claimed that the dumping of the oil from a Shell platform into the North Sea
posed an ecological threat to the region. This campaign resulted in a boycott against many of
Shell’s products, which had a grave financial impact on the enterprise. Thus, the question of
accountability is fundamental.

Legal status under international law

The ever-increasing role of NGOs raises the issue of their legal status under international law.
Normally, subjects of international law are those that enjoy entitlements and may be obliged
by international law. As such, the classical subjects of international law are states.
Nevertheless, actors under international law include for example international governmental
organisations and, arguably, individuals. The possibility of recognising subjects other than
states was acknowledged by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Reparation for
Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations case (Advisory Opinion of 11 April
1949). The ICJ stated that the “(…) subjects of the law in any legal system are not necessarily
identical in their nature or in the extent of their rights, and their nature may depend upon the
needs of the community. Throughout its history, the development of international law has
been influenced by the requirements of international life, and the progressive increase in the
collective activities of States has already given rise to instances of action upon the
international plane by certain entities which are not States”.

Social Development

NGOs play an important role in global social development—work that has helped facilitate
achievements in human development as measured by the UN Human Development Index
(HDI) (n.d.). One of the major strengths of NGOs is their ability to maintain institutional
independence and political neutrality. Even though NGOs need to collaborate with
governments in numerous instances, failure to maintain neutrality and autonomy may
severely compromise the NGOs’ legitimacy. Unfortunately, if a government insists upon
political allegiance, the NGOs encounter the dilemma of either violating the neutrality
position or failing to provide needed services to the population.

Construction of Infrastructure

Some NGOs focus solely on supporting infrastructure development and maintenance. These
organizations buy land and utilize it to build facilities that the entire community can use, such
as schools, hospitals, wells, and public restrooms.

Research and Development

These NGOs do research and contribute to improving knowledge about contemporary

situations. Based on the study, they create original solutions to address social issues. They
provide relief to the people in the best possible manner.

Campaigning
Several NGOs work to influence the formulation of public policy in support of
underprivileged groups. These NGOs are most likely to hold demonstrations, hold rallies,
participate in policymaking, etc

Facilitate Communication

NGOs can help to encourage dialogue by facilitating both upward and downward interaction
between the public to the government. Better projects and more efficient policies can be
designed because of this two-way information exchange.

Distribution of Information

NGOs assist in spreading knowledge about government plans, policies, and programs in areas
where the government is unable to interact with citizens. They aid in spreading the word
about important government initiatives.

Sustainable Community Development

NGOs have shown leadership in promoting sustainable community development. Due to their
particular ideology and nature, NGOs are good at reaching out to the poor and remote
communities and mobilizing these populations. They can also empower these populations to
regain control of their lives and can work with and strengthen local organizations. In addition,
such NGOs can carry out projects more efficiently and at lower costs than government
agencies and, most importantly, promote sustainable development (Nikkhah & Redzuan,
2010).

Although the current entitlements are probably insufficient to accept the legal personality of
all NGOs at the moment, it is somewhat reasonable to sustain that some NGOs, due to their
role in our global system, should be regarded as partial subjects of international law. When
NGOs work within a legal framework of an organ or an international governmental
organisation, they are involved in the exercise of public authority as, for example, in the field
of the protection of human rights. Then the de facto recognition of their (partial) legal
subjectivity under international law should be acknowledged. Thus, with reference to the
current level of the entitlements and obligations of NGOs under international law, it may be
justified to award some of them the status of “partial legal subject”, depending on their
involvement in the official work of the inter-governmental organisations.
Conclusion

The place of NGOs in international law is unclear. As it is well known, international law has
evolved as a law solely shaped by states. This has the effect that governments are the most
significant players in its formation and implementation. Recently, however, the number of the
actors in the international system has increased and international NGOs have been
acknowledged as having some legal status under international law, depending on their
concrete role in international relations. International law is still based on states’ cooperation
in inter-governmental organisations. Yet, one of the distinct features of the current era of
globalisation is the growing importance of multinational enterprises and non-governmental
entities in the international system. Perhaps, they should no longer be excluded from the
circle of the subjects of international law in order for the establishment of concrete rights and
duties under international law, as well as their international accountability. Indeed, explicit
rules are needed to constitute the international accountability of NGOs, such as a legal regime
of self-regulation or a system of regulation by the states. One possibility that seems
particularly remarkable is the extension of the scope of the application of human rights rules
to NGOs. All these propositions, however, may prove to be difficult to implement in practice.
It is clear, though, that NGOs could only be held directly accountable for their actions under
international law in case they receive subject status.

NGOs have influenced international economic relations and international economic law.
They represent and support the interests of the civil society and make pluralistic global
governance possible. NGOs thus represent society in the international system in the era of
globalization. They contribute to global governance as far as they are involved in the law-
making and the implementation processes. Moreover, they may confront governments, trying
to formulate a common international interest which has been neglected by the global
community.
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