Can a socio-historical analysis of the origins and institutional architecture of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) help in the understanding of the current trade-labour gap in international law?

Abstract

In 1996 at the WTO’s first Ministerial Conference in Singapore the WTO determined that matters of labour were not to be considered within WTO competence; instead this competence was handed completely to the ILO. This has ultimately resulted in the separation of labour matters and trade matters. This essay aims to explore how political decisions such as this one may be understood by way of an analysis of the international organizations. By looking at how the ILO and the WTO came into being; and by situating these organizations within their respective thought traditions the essay aims to explore how epistemic communities leave traces of their ethic within the institutional framework of the organizations they create. Moreover, the ethics found therein have something important to tell us in terms of how such organizations may interact in the international economic legal field. By charting the change in the socio-economic narrative surrounding the global economy the discussion considers how law, economics, and the pursuit of social justice are represented within the current legal architecture and how this can help provide a clearer understanding of the current trade-labour gap.