I deem it a privilege to be amidst the distinguished gathering of eminent jurists. I congratulate the Indian Regional Branch of the International Law Association for taking up the theme of ‘International Trade Law and Legal Aspects of Trans-Border Investment’. Hon’ble President of India Inaugurated this very important conference yesterday and I hope the deliberations held yesterday and today would make positive contributions.

In a changing world economic order, international trade has assumed a place of prominence and is considered as one of the important indicators of economic growth of a country. Trade liberalization and the principles of comparative advantage have engaged the nations in expanding trade, cross-boundary investment and Business process out sourcing particularly to take the advantage of factor pricing. This has resulted in increasing trading activities among nations of late, we are facing difficult economic conditions characterized by widespread recession and decline in international trade, having serious socio-economic implications. However, India is less affected than other economies of the world. This owes largely to the policies of the Government that successfully managed the Banking Sector which helped mitigate the impact of the crisis to a considerable extent. However, India’s export sector has been hit lately due to a contraction in demand for its exports. To recover from the setback, the Government’s recently announced Foreign Trade Policy measures aimed at improving exports related to infrastructure; bringing down transaction costs; and for providing full refund of all indirect taxes and levies.

The General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) 1947, provided the institutional framework for the multilateral trade regime that has prevailed till date. This was followed by arrangements made for international trade laws aimed at regulating and resolving trade disputes and to free the international trade from restrictive practices. These include establishment of the UN’s Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in 1966, with the general mandate of progressive harmonization and unification of the law of international trade. India’s Arbitration and Conciliation Act of 1996 is based on this Model Law adopted with few modifications, which it uses both for its domestic as well as international trade affairs.

The emergence of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 brought about a positive change in the way international trade was conducted. The WTO underpins a new world trading order with its overriding objective being to help trade flow smoothly, freely, fairly and predictably. It does so, by administering trade agreements in the form of legal text and by acting as a forum for trade negotiations and for settling of trade disputes.

The ability to take disputes to a neutral umpire and to have a binding ruling are some of the unique characteristics of the WTO. The WTO’s Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) along with its disputes panel and the appellate body enables disputes to be decided on their legal merits rather than on the basis of political and economic power of the contracting parties.  India has been engaged actively in Dispute Settlement Mechanism. WTO has, in fact, successfully delivered on dispute settlement with its more than 100 rulings delivered on trade disputes and many more cases being settled ‘out of court’ as well.

Despite support from its key stakeholders, the most recent round of WTO negotiations was stalled in July 2008 over a divide on major issues such as agriculture, industrial tariffs and non tariff barriers, services and trade remedies. The Agriculture negotiations covering market access, trade distorting domestic support and various forms of export subsidies are at the centre of discussion owing to its wide ramifications for the developing countries. But it is heartening to note that the current impasse over the Doha Development Agenda Negotiations was finally broken as a result of the initiative taken by India. In the recent Doha round talks there has been a break through over the dead lock.  It was good to see India reiterating the need to expedite the conclusion of the Doha round by 2010.

The proliferation of Bilateral and Regional Investment Treaties and a substantial increase in litigation under these treaties, the international trade law on foreign investment has been the focus of attention since the beginning this Century. Concerted efforts of the international community during the Doha discussions culminated in the Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) in 2001.

Though arrangements such as the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) and agreements on public health are put in place, it is through bilateral and regional trade agreements that stringent Intellectual Property laws are still being implemented across the world. These undermine the 2001 Doha Declaration on public health and is distorting the delicate balance in TRIPs between private rights of intellectual property and public interest.

Another issue threatening the very survival of life on this planet is the change in the global environment. The global response to climate change must be firmly based on the principles of equity and 'common and differentiated responsibility and respective capability'. It should also take into account the imperatives of poverty reduction and economic development in developing countries as recognized under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). UNFCCC sets an overall framework for inter - governmental efforts to tackle this global challenge. A long term goal for stabilization of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), must be accompanied by a burden sharing paradigm which takes into account historical responsibility, per capita emissions and respective capabilities of countries. Any long term goal would be meaningless without concomitant mid-term targets and (GHGs) reduction commitments by developed countries. India, though having very low per capita emission levels, has drawn up an ambitious National Action Plan on Climate Change in 2008, which will help us in seeking an ecologically sustainable path of development, thus addressing our environmental and developmental objectives at the same time.

As regards the prevailing legal framework, it is pertinent to mention that in the domestic arena, the common law has evolved along divergent paths in different jurisdiction of the globe. There is an absence of uniformity in developing common laws which is essential to safeguard the interests of the general public. In the private international law arena, however, some arrangements are in place such as the International Institute for the Unification of the Private Law – the UNIDROIT and the Hague Conference on Private Law. I am glad to learn that recently the ILA has established a study group on the use of private law principles for the development of international law. I am hopeful that these guidelines would serve a practical and useful tool for those involved in the adjudication process and would be found useful in their application in the international legal affairs of the country.

The individual governments do have parallel responsibilities in ensuring that all the pros and cons of the impacts of tariffs and non-tariff barriers, both intended and unintended, are taken into consideration before putting them in place. This is also what the WTO believes that 'the opening of national markets to international trade must be accompanied by sound domestic and international policies that contribute to economic growth and development according to each member’s needs and aspirations'. India too has made significant strides in integrating itself into the global economy in a manner suitable to its trade structure and its trade policy profile. In keeping with its policies to enhance the economic competitiveness along with ensuring social development, the process of opening up of the Indian economy has been primarily visualized as a mechanism where trade would function as an ‘engine of growth’ and the fruits of growth would trickle down to the poor.

Before I conclude, I would like to express my appreciation to the organizers for a conference having immense contemporary relevance.

Thank you.