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Full-Text Articles in Law

Women's Rights And The Public Morals Exception Of Gatt Article 20, Liane M. Jarvis Jan 2000

Women's Rights And The Public Morals Exception Of Gatt Article 20, Liane M. Jarvis

Michigan Journal of International Law

The public morals exception in Article XX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) could and should be interpreted in accordance with evolving human rights law on women's rights. This clause provides an exception to the general rule that members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) cannot take measures against other Members that would restrict trade. Under Article XX, WTO members may restrict trade for a variety of social reasons, including protecting the environment, preventing prison labor, and otherwise promoting "public morals.” This Note will argue in particular that a nation should be allowed to invoke the public …


Cultural Resistance To Global Governance, Joel Richard Paul Jan 2000

Cultural Resistance To Global Governance, Joel Richard Paul

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article maps out the terrain in which state actors and legal scholars make claims premised on a cultural exception to justify derogating from international legal norms. The author’s aim is to understand why some of these claimed cultural practices displace international legal norms, while other practices are dismissed as violating international legal norms. Part II will examine this discourse in relation to the rights of women and sexual minorities. This article will show that the international community generally regards gender norms as cultural and the international legal norm of gender equality usually defers to national cultural practices. Part III …