The right to water and trade in services

This research paper examines the tension between the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the human right to water. The authors argue that because the realization of the right to water requires flexible, country-specific regulatory strategies, international trade law should be conceptualized in deference to national regulatory autonomy to prevent trade obligations from undermining the state's ability to ensure universal and affordable access to water.

• The authors establish that access to water is a basic human right derived from the right to life in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the rights to an adequate standard of living and health in the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This right requires governments to progressively increase safe, affordable, and non-discriminatory access to drinkable water, though the specific regulatory means—whether public or private—can vary by country.
• The paper proposes a 'progressive approach' to trade law where human rights are treated as objectives of trade liberalization rather than exceptions. This approach emphasizes that states must maintain 'regulatory space and flexibility' to tailor policies to their specific societal needs, arguing that GATS should not restrict regulatory choices made to fulfill human rights obligations.
• Regarding the scope of GATS, the authors note that while the European Community has proposed a re-classification of water services into environmental sub-sectors to encourage market opening, GATS generally applies to all services unless they are supplied 'in the exercise of governmental authority.' To keep water services outside GATS scope, a member must ensure they are supplied on a non-profit and non-competitive basis.
• Full commitment to GATS market access rules can prohibit the use of public monopolies and exclusive service suppliers. Since water supply is often a 'natural monopoly' where multiple infrastructures are inefficient, the authors argue that governments should exercise restraint in scheduling market access commitments to avoid making the abolishment of public monopolies irreversible.
• The GATS national treatment obligation may conflict with Universal Service Obligations (USOs), which require providers to expand service to un-served areas or provide water below cost. If USOs are applied only to new (often foreign) entrants, they could be viewed as de facto discriminatory. The authors suggest that only measures with 'foreseeable discriminatory effects' should be considered violations to preserve regulatory autonomy.
• Proposed WTO disciplines on domestic regulation could allow international tribunals to strike down national water policies (such as zoning or quality standards) if they are deemed 'more trade-restrictive than necessary.' The authors argue that the 'necessity test' should be interpreted to recognize the progressive realization of the right to water as a 'vital' and 'important' national policy objective to mitigate these constraints.

APA

Türk, E., & Krajewski, M. (2003). The right to water and trade in services. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/GATS_WaterHR_28Oct03.pdf

Chicago

Türk, Elisabeth, and Markus Krajewski. The right to water and trade in services. Center for International Environmental Law, 2003. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/GATS_WaterHR_28Oct03.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Türk |first1=Elisabeth |last2=Krajewski |first2=Markus |title=The right to water and trade in services |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=30 October 2003 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/GATS_WaterHR_28Oct03.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{trk2003right, author = {Türk, Elisabeth and Krajewski, Markus}, title = {{The right to water and trade in services}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2003}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/GATS_WaterHR_28Oct03.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }