Article XX (General Exceptions)
E12885
Article XX (General Exceptions) is a key provision of the GATT that allows World Trade Organization members to adopt trade-restrictive measures for specified public policy objectives, such as protecting human, animal or plant life and conserving exhaustible natural resources, provided certain conditions are met.
Aliases (4)
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
GATT article
→
treaty provision → |
| adoptedIn |
GATT 1947
→
|
| allows |
trade-restrictive measures under specified conditions
→
|
| appliesTo |
World Trade Organization members
→
|
| balances |
trade liberalization and non-trade public policy objectives
→
|
| carriedOverTo |
GATT 1994
→
|
| chapeau |
prohibits arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries where the same conditions prevail
→
prohibits disguised restrictions on international trade → |
| condition |
measures must not be a disguised restriction on international trade
→
measures must not be applied in a manner constituting arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination → |
| firstTier |
measure must fall under at least one specific paragraph (a)–(j)
→
|
| interpretedBy |
WTO Appellate Body
→
WTO panels → |
| language |
English official text titled "General Exceptions"
→
|
| legalEffect |
can justify measures otherwise inconsistent with GATT obligations
→
|
| legalNature |
exception clause to general GATT disciplines
→
|
| legalSystem |
World Trade Organization law
→
|
| objective |
conservation of exhaustible natural resources under Article XX(g)
→
imposition of restrictions on exports of domestic materials under Article XX(k) → protection of animal life or health under Article XX(b) → protection of human life or health under Article XX(b) → protection of national treasures of artistic, historic or archaeological value under Article XX(f) → protection of plant life or health under Article XX(b) → protection of public morals under Article XX(a) → relief of products in general or local short supply under Article XX(j) → restrictions on the export of domestic materials necessary to ensure essential quantities to a domestic processing industry under Article XX(l) → securing compliance with laws or regulations not inconsistent with the GATT under Article XX(d) → |
| paragraph |
Article XX(a)
→
Article XX(b) → Article XX(d) → Article XX(f) → Article XX(g) → Article XX(j) → Article XX(k) → Article XX(l) → |
| partOf |
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994
→
World Trade Organization legal framework → |
| purpose |
to allow exceptions to GATT obligations for specified public policy objectives
→
|
| relatedTo |
environmental protection measures
→
public health measures → regulatory autonomy of WTO members → |
| requires |
a two-tier legal test in WTO dispute settlement
→
means-ends relationship assessment between the measure and the policy objective → necessity analysis for certain paragraphs such as XX(b) and XX(d) → |
| scope |
applies to measures inconsistent with certain GATT provisions such as Articles I, III and XI
→
|
| secondTier |
measure must satisfy the chapeau requirements
→
|
| usedIn |
WTO dispute settlement cases
→
|
Referenced by (6)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Article XX (General Exceptions)
("Article XX(a)")
→
Article XX (General Exceptions) ("Article XX(f)") → |
paragraph |
|
Article III (National Treatment on Internal Taxation and Regulation)
→
Article XXI (Security Exceptions) ("Article XX (General Exceptions) of GATT") → |
relatedTo |
|
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
→
|
hasPart |
|
Article XX (General Exceptions)
("English official text titled "General Exceptions"")
→
|
language |