Judicial Activism at the World Trade Organizational: Development Principles of Self-Restraint

In a number of recent decisions the AB has begun to grapple in a non-systematic way with both the incorporation and creative interpretation issues.14 These decisions raise serious concerns that the AB is exceeding its authority under the DSU and inappropriately incorporating non-WTO law or interpreting WTO agreements in a manner that diminishes the rights of members. This article explores both the incorporation and creative interpretation questions by assessing the relative merits of three different models of how social regulatory policy might be integrated into WTO decision-making: the Judicial Activist Model, the Contract Model, and the Legislative Model.