ABSTRACT
Preferential Treatment of developing countries is a well established practice in international trade relations. Its main field of application on a multilateral basis is the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The principle of preferential treatment as a means of compensating development-related disadvantages of developing countries has given rise to various legal and para-legal rules in favour of developing countries. The general GATT-objective of limiting unilateral discretion by quasi-automatic multilateral rules should be followed also in the field of preferential treatment of developing countries. The jurisprudential foundation of the concept of preferential treatment of developing countries is derived from the principles of substantive equality and social justice. The legal approach chosen for preferential treatment is of special interest. Besides exceptions from obligations a number of positive measures have been adopted exclusively for developing countries constituting another form of preferential treatment.
