The Comparative Study of the of the Bona Fide Application in the Process of Interpretation of Agreements before Dispute Resolution Bodies of WTO

Good faith is one of the current tools in Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties concerning treaty interpretation. The numerous international treaties, including WTO agreements, have been interpreted in the light of this element. Despite the frequent use of this concept in the treaty interpretation, the exact limits of the meanings and instances of good faith in the process of interpretation are controversial. WTO Dispute Resolution Bodies have repeatedly resorted to good faith in interpretation of Organization’s agreements. The diverse concepts and applications of good faith have led the WTO’s Appellate Body and Panel to use good faith in two very different concepts in interpreting treaties. The result of this conflict is to produce the different interpretations regarding the rights and obligations of parties of WTO’s agreements. This article, while explaining the different meanings of good faith in public and economic international law, and especially its application in the process of interpretation of treaties, examines the differences between WTO Dispute Resolution bodies’ approaches. Finding of this article shows that the Appellate’ approach is more consistent with the logic of interpretation in international law.