Mainstreaming Human Rights in International Economic Organisations: Improving Judicial Access for NGOs to the World Trade Organization

Abstract

In January 2006 the World Trade Organization (WTO) published the report entitled The Future of the WTO¹ – known as the Sutherland report after the chairman of the commission that drafted the report – which reflects on the state of the WTO and the challenges ahead. An entire chapter of this nine-chapter report is devoted to ‘transparency and dialogue with civil society’.² This demonstrates the importance of this relationship for the future of the WTO. In this article the role of civil society in the WTO is discussed.³ It is argued that the approach in the report is too cautious and a more far-reaching judicial role for civil society in the future is necessary. It is submitted that enhancing the role of civil society within the WTO is particularly important in light of mainstreaming human rights.