Judicial enforcement of WTO law in the European Union - Some further reflections

This essay re-examines the recent case-law of the European Court of Justice and European Court of First Instance on the effect of WTO law in the EC legal system, particularly the judgment in Portugal v Council. The author takes issue with the critiques of that judgment, and attempts to defend the Court's exclusion of full direct effect, from a number of different perspectives. The second part of the essay looks into the types of legal effect of WTO law which the European courts do recognize, such as the principles of interpretation and implementation. It is argued that particularly the latter principle offers useful avenues for judicial communication.