Dr Frieder Roessler
had a deep understanding of the roots and purposes of GATT and WTO law. In two
articles, written in 1993 and 1998, he set out his view of the primary function
of the GATT/WTO system as being to resolve conflicts of interest within, not
between, nations and that it is, therefore, better viewed functionally part of
the domestic constitutional framework for trade policy making, and not of the
international law of coexistence or cooperation. He also considered that the
GATT/WTO system does not unduly restrict WTO Members’ policy space either to
attain economic policy goals, through the use of preferred policy instruments,
or non-economic policy goals, in areas such as environmental policy, through
the exceptions contained in the GATT 1994. This note examines Dr Roessler’s
views as explained in the two articles and considers whether and how his views
still apply in an age of increasing unilateralism/protectionism in trade policy
and of the increasing importance of issues such as responses to climate change.