Controversial Issues Of Article 2.2’s Interpretation In WTO "TBT Agreement"

Since the 1990s,as the ecosystem destruction and environmental pollution became more and more serious,national governments have implemented a series of policies and measures to protect human health,improve quality of people’s life and protect the ecological environment.However,with the rapid development of international trade,these measures have turned into barriers for market access.In order to further promote the liberalization of international trade,regulate and coordinate the fair uses of national technical regulations,"the TBT Agreement"(Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade,hereinafter referred to as "TBT Agreement")came into being.This agreement has been playing a positive role in regulating and coordinating the technical agreement fair use of trade measures.Article 2.2 is the core provision of "TBT Agreement".This article is not only significant in the theoretical study of the "TBT Agreement",but also has been explaining by all the membership nations in the practice of dispute resolution.However,since there are few judgments that based on "TBT Agreement",the interpretation and application of Article 2.2 is still in its infancy and does have many problems.This thesis focuses on the controversial issues of Article 2.2’s interpretation in "TBT Agreement".Based on problem-oriented approach,the thesis is trying to apply effective principles of interpretation to make specific analysis on these contentious issues,and expect to contribute to our country on protecting our own rights in dispute resolution by effectively using Article 2.2 of"TBT Agreement"Text of this thesis is divided into four parts:The first part starts with the controversial issues of the interpretation of Article 2.2"TBT Agreement" both in theory and practice.By collating and summarizing views form the scholars and parties in dispute resolutions,the controversial issues could be separated into three aspects:Article 2.2’s nature and meaning,its relationship with other relevant provisions within ’TBT Agreement’,and its relationship with other relevant provisions within WTO Agreements.Also,the thesis highlights that the reason of the controversial issues,which is raised from Article 2.2,is that the parties didn’t insist on principle of effective interpretation to interpret the Article 2.2 during the dispute settlement.Furthermore,the second,third and fourth sections of this thesis will give specific analysis on each of these three issues.Based on Article 2.2 itself,the second part explores its nature and meaning.I try to analyze whether Article 2,2 fits with WTO exception clauses via studying on Article 2.2 and WTO Agreement’s exceptions.Besides,I will make analysis on four elements contained in the meaning of Article 2.2 by combining the identification and effective interpretation principles of the Article’s nature.The third part discusses relationship between Article 2.2 and other relevant provisions within "TBT Agreement".The relevant provisions include "TBT Agreement" Preface,Article 2.1,Article 2.4,Articles.1.2 and 12.3.These provisions are similar or controversial provisions,in application and interpretation,related to the Article 2.2.By exploring the relationship between Article 2.2 and the provisions in the"TBT Agreement",it makes clear Article 2.2’s position in "TBT Agreement",and contributes to a more appropriate interpretation of Article 2.2.The fourth part will extend the discussion to the entire WTO system.Both of GATT1994 Article 20 and Article 2.2 are controversial on their interpretation and application.The contrast and comparison of their connection and distinction will help us identify their application.And meanwhile,it indirectly represents the relationship between "TBT Agreement" and the GATT1994.Finally,under the background that our country has been increasingly involved in the dispute settlement related to "TBT Agreement",I also analyze that how should our country,whether as the complaining party or the respondent party,to apply Article 2.2 in the dispute resolution to protect our own interests and promote the liberalization of international trade.