WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT: CURRENT ISSUES THE GMOS DISPUTE Interpreting WTO Law and the Relevance of Multilateral Environmental Agreements in EC-Biotech

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) analyzes the 2006 WTO panel reports in the EC-Biotech dispute, specifically focusing on the panel's refusal to integrate Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) into the interpretation of WTO law. The author argues that the panel's narrow interpretation of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties deviates from previous Appellate Body jurisprudence, such as the US-Shrimp case, and undermines the principle of 'mutual supportiveness' between trade and environmental policies.

• The EC-Biotech panel adopted a narrow interpretation of Article 31(3)(c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, concluding that it is only obligated to consider rules of international law that are applicable to all WTO Members. Consequently, the panel rejected the requirement to take into account the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) or the Biosafety Protocol because not all WTO Members had ratified them.
• While the panel felt no legal obligation to use MEAs under Article 31(3)(c), it stated it could voluntarily consider non-WTO agreements under Article 31(1) of the Vienna Convention if they are 'informative' for establishing the 'ordinary meaning' of treaty terms, comparing their role to that of dictionaries.
• The author contends that the EC-Biotech panel's approach contradicts the concept of 'mutual supportiveness' between trade and environment. This concept, rooted in the 1992 Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, and the WTO's own Ministerial Decision on Trade and Environment, suggests there should be no policy contradiction between a non-discriminatory trading system and environmental protection.
• The briefing contrasts the EC-Biotech decision with the US-Shrimp case, where the WTO Appellate Body interpreted GATT Article XX by referencing the objective of sustainable development and several MEAs (including the CBD and UNCLOS) regardless of whether all parties to the dispute had ratified them.
• The author notes that the WTO's SPS and TBT Agreements already demonstrate a preference for international standards to facilitate trade and harmonization, granting privileged treatment to measures that conform to such standards even if they are not mandatory or adopted by consensus.
• The International Law Commission (ILC) criticized the EC-Biotech panel's narrow reading of the Vienna Convention, arguing it could lead to the 'clinical isolation' of multilateral agreements as 'islands' that cannot reference one another, which contradicts the intent of most treaty-makers.

APA

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, N. (2007). WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT: CURRENT ISSUES THE GMOS DISPUTE Interpreting WTO Law and the Relevance of Multilateral Environmental Agreements in EC-Biotech. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BIICL_ECBiotech_7Jun07.pdf

Chicago

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie. WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT: CURRENT ISSUES THE GMOS DISPUTE Interpreting WTO Law and the Relevance of Multilateral Environmental Agreements in EC-Biotech. Center for International Environmental Law, 2007. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BIICL_ECBiotech_7Jun07.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bernasconi-Osterwalder |first1=Nathalie |title=WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT: CURRENT ISSUES THE GMOS DISPUTE Interpreting WTO Law and the Relevance of Multilateral Environmental Agreements in EC-Biotech |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=22 May 2007 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BIICL_ECBiotech_7Jun07.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bernasconiosterwalder2007wto, author = {Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie}, title = {{WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT: CURRENT ISSUES THE GMOS DISPUTE Interpreting WTO Law and the Relevance of Multilateral Environmental Agreements in EC-Biotech}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2007}, month = may, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BIICL_ECBiotech_7Jun07.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }