NACIONALINIO SAUGUMO IŠIMTIES SAMPRATA IR TAIKYMO YPATUMAI PASAULIO PREKYBOS ORGANIZACIJOS TEISĖJE
THE SCOPE OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY EXEMPTION AND THE PECULIARITIES OF ITS APPLICATION IN THE LAW OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

Summary/Abstract: This article provides a detailed overview of the national security exceptions within the legal system of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The topic sparks new debate among practitioners and scholars because international trade faces a growing number of restrictions when states justify their actions on the grounds of national security, although such actions sometimes hide not only political but also commercial interests of individual governments and several sectors of the economy. The mentioned examples include trade restrictions related to the Russia–Ukraine conflict, the conflict of Qatar with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and several other countries in the region, and decisions by the US president on additional import duties on steel and aluminium.Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the resolution of these international trade restrictions is shifting from diplomatic formats to ad hoc litigation under WTO dispute settlement procedures. The first ruling in the history of the WTO in a case con- cerning the application of the national security exception came to pass in the case of Russia – Transit Traffic (Ukraine) on 26 April 2019, following the adoption of the arbitration panel report by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. This ruling fills a gap in WTO jurisprudence, which is wide enough on many other issues of international trade law.In addition to the content of specific legal provisions, this article analyzes the latest WTO dispute settlement proceedings, which look into the application of national security exceptions. This article also aims to answer the question of the legitimacy of application of national security exemptions, and to define the scope of national security exceptions in international trade law.

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