ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how far the "flaws" of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) have been rectified in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The GATT was completed in October 1947 before the approval of the International Trade Organization charter by the Havana conference in March 1948. Perhaps because of the difficulty in putting together the required majority to pass an amendment, GATT's amendment procedure was used rarely, and instead of amending the relevant articles, leaders negotiated an elaborate system of plurilateral side agreements and codes. The relationship between the GATT and the domestic laws of contracting parties varied. Articles of the WTO relating to its original membership, accession of new members, and ministerial decisions on acceptance and accession to the agreement establishing the WTO have expanded on the corresponding articles of the GATT. The dispute-settlement mechanism of the WTO is much stronger than that of the GATT.
