WTO General Council (2018). Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions: Need for a Re-Think, Communication from India and South Africa. WT/GC/W/747.

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Implementation of WTO Rules: Legality of Consensus Decision-Making Practice

  AUTHORS: Bio Noël Orou Yerima

  KEYWORDS: Consensus Practice, Rule-Based System, WTO Moratorium, Electronic Transmissions

  JOURNAL NAME: Beijing Law Review, Vol.15 No.4, December 23, 2024

  ABSTRACT: The decisions taken under the principle of consensus in the World Trade Organization (WTO) receive direct effect in domestic law of the contracting parties. Meanwhile, the rule-based system of the Uruguay Round has to comply with the domestic law of the contracting parties. The paper analyzed different approaches of the contracting parties regarding the provisions of WTO agreements, the rule-based system; and the decisions of the consensual practice. It went through the concerns on the scope of the WTO moratorium on electronic transmissions, and its inclusion either in the domestic law or in the regional trade agreements. The contracting parties of the WTO provided for full acceptance of the consensual decisions. Unlikely, the rule-based system of the WTO first went through legislative procedure for its application in the jurisdiction of the contracting parties. The paper concludes on the legal implementation of the decision made through the practice of consensus, placing the decisions of consensus on the top of hierarchy in WTO Law system.