Professor Pauwelyn has been invited by the University of Laval to the conference “Wto at 20”. In his intervention, he will address the audience with a lecture on the relation between the WTO and public international law, reflecting on the current state of play and remaining questions after 20 years of jurisprudence.

1995 marked the birth of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the coming into force of the Uruguay Round Agreements. Since then, despite the difficulties to make multilateral trade negotiations progress, , WTO law has continuously been clarified, strengthened and refined thanks to the steady development of the WTO case law. This conference aims to take stock of the first 20 years of the WTO and the evolution of its law. The programme of the conference is articulated around global themes relating to the application of the WTO agreements, the main functions of the Organization, its role in the global governance and the challenges that it faces. Six panels will address issues such as the place of WTO law in Public International Law, Dispute Settlement, Trade and Non-trade Values, Development, Regionalism and the Unfinished works of the WTO. Presentations relating to the creation of the WTO, the role of the Appellate Body and the past and future of the organization will complete the programme.

About the conference

This conference is the occasion to bring together academics, practitioners of WTO law as well as policy makers who have taken or still take part in the creation, operation and transformation of the WTO and its agreements. We intend to look back on the implementation and interpretation of the main WTO agreements, debate on the issues facing its 160 Members and make propositions to contribute to the evolution of the multilateral trading system.

The programme is available here