Direct effect of the law of the GATT in the European Union, the United States and the consequences for the WTO

This aim of this thesis will be to first address the issue of the direct applicability of the GATT within the national framework, mainly through the use of an analysis of the considerations that such a denial of the direct effect of the GATT is based upon, to understand if there are real obstacles to its implementation, before examining the harmful effects this of denial. The analysis will focus on the situation in both the European Union and the United States, these two countries being two of the most important trade partners in the WTO, before suggesting various solutions that could be adopted to implement the direct effect of the GATT in order to benefit both individuals and the WTO members.However, since WTO members are still highly opposed to the recognition of the direct effect of the GATT, the unlikelihood of its implementation, at least in a short term perspective, will lead to an analysis of the situation directly at the WTO level. This will permit us to further conclude, whether it would be possible to find solutions to palliate the problems arising out of the denial of the direct effect of the GATT at a national level. Indeed, in the last part of the analysis undertaken in this work, various ways to remedy the deficit of democracy will be explored, examining alternatively the best vectors that could be used: individuals or NGOs, in order to enhance the legitimacy of the WTO which is principally under attack