WTO law in the European Court of Justice

This paper seeks a broader perspective in reviewing the case law of the European Court of Justice with respect to WTO law by looking at the case law on the direct effect of WTO law in a historical perspective. The action for annulment wielded by the EC Member States is analyzed in greater detail as an instrument to arrive at least at some level of review of European Community law in the light of the WTO Agreements and the question is posed whether the Court has made the right choice by following the same line as for the question of direct effect in such cases. In essence, the WTO case law of the European court is about reciprocity. If law and law enforcement are seen by the EC to be important also internationally, the Court should ask itself whether enough importance is given to those international rules in internal decision-making.