Extract

Since trade in bulk fresh water has not been formally excluded from the ambit of the GATT, legal conflicts could arise with, inter alia, the human right to water and the ‘no harm’ principle of international environmental law. Free trade concerns still tend to trump ‘non-trade’ concerns of other ‘competing’ international law regimes. In the context of climate change and global warming, the GATT, as a global trade agreement, could empower the human right to water on the international level. Conflicts are more likely to occur with the human right to water on the regional and local levels. Since the WTO has global elaborations on all levels of society, the question (re-)emerges whether it would not be appropriate to take into account paramount provisions out of other ‘competing’ fields of international law, such as human rights law and international environmental law. A case is made. KEYWORDS: Human rights – environment – water – trade – GATT – article XX