This paper examines the rules and the practice of the World Trade Organization legal system in the field of digital trade and compares them to the ones of some non commercial international organizations in order to identify some peculiarities of the WTO context. It concludes that, although the WTO member States have not adopted specific rules for the digital environment, they somehow succeeded in applying to it the more general GATT and GATS rules which, in turn, have influenced the material content of some preferential trade agreements (PTAs) relating to trade in digital goods and services, thus avoiding the birth of an espaghetti bowl. On this point only the TRIPs system registers a peculiar phase of backwardness.
La disciplina multilaterale del commercio digitale
RUOTOLO, GIANPAOLO MARIA
2014-01-01
Abstract
This paper examines the rules and the practice of the World Trade Organization legal system in the field of digital trade and compares them to the ones of some non commercial international organizations in order to identify some peculiarities of the WTO context. It concludes that, although the WTO member States have not adopted specific rules for the digital environment, they somehow succeeded in applying to it the more general GATT and GATS rules which, in turn, have influenced the material content of some preferential trade agreements (PTAs) relating to trade in digital goods and services, thus avoiding the birth of an espaghetti bowl. On this point only the TRIPs system registers a peculiar phase of backwardness.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
