Resumen de "Constitutionalization" and Dispute Settlement in the WTO: National Security as an Issue of Competence

Hannes L. Schloemann, Stefan Ohlhoff

• The constitutionalization of the WTO is forcing a reappraisal of certain states' claims based on national security. The authors examine the claim raised in the U.S.-EC Helms-Burton dispute that the very invocation of the GATT's security exception bars WTO review. They conclude that the sovereign prerogative of the state to define its essential security interests does not exclude the WTO's interpretive and adjudicatory competence. A clear separation of spheres allows for a constitutional solution within the system.