Peter van den Bossche (born 1959) is a professor of
international economic law
International economic law is an increasingly seminal field of international law that involves the regulation and conduct of states, international organizations, and private firms operating in the international economic arena. As such, internationa ...
at the
University of Bern
The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...
(
World Trade Institute
The World Trade Institute (WTI) is an interdisciplinary centre at the University of Bern focused on research, education, and policy support in the areas of global economic governance, international economic law, and international economic susta ...
). In 2018 he was elected president of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL). He served as a judge on the
Appellate Body
The Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTOAB) is a standing body of seven persons that hears appeals from reports issued by panels in disputes brought on by WTO members. The WTOAB can uphold, modify or reverse the legal findings an ...
of the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
(WTO) from 2009-2017, following nomination by the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and appointment and re-appointment by the
Member states of the World Trade Organization
The original member states of the World Trade Organization are the parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) after ratification, ratifying the Uruguay Round Agreements, and the European Communities. They obtained this status at ...
.
In December 2013 his appointment was renewed. With the end of his formal appointment at the end of 2017, US-driven delays in appointing his replacement alongside US blocking of other key
WTO
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
vacancies has meant a growing crisis for the
WTO
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
-based multilateral trading system. The election of van den Bossche (an outgoing WTO judge) as SIEL president is considered by some a sign of both defiance to economic nationalism and support for the
rules-based multilateral system.
Prior to his appointment at the University of Bern, he was employed at the Faculty of Law of
Maastricht University
Maastricht University (abbreviated as UM; nl, Universiteit Maastricht) is a public research university in Maastricht, Netherlands. Founded in 1976, it is the second youngest of the thirteen Dutch universities.
In 2021, 22,383 students studied at ...
(1992-2016), where he was senior lecturer from 1993-2001, and
Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
of
International economic law
International economic law is an increasingly seminal field of international law that involves the regulation and conduct of states, international organizations, and private firms operating in the international economic arena. As such, internationa ...
from 2001-2016. From 2005-2009 he was head of department of the Department of International and European Law. In 2007 he founded the Institute for Globalization and International Regulation. From 1990 to 1992, he worked as référendaire at the
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
in
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
and, from 1997 to 2001, as senior legal advisor to the WTO Appellate Body in Geneva. He serves on the Advisory Board of several academic law journals: ''Journal of World Investment and Trade''; ''Journal of International Economic Law''; and ''Revista Latinoamericana de Derecho Comercial Internacional''. He is also on the advisory board for the ''WTO Chairs Programme'' of the World Trade Organization.
[ Through its various editions, his book ''The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization'' has become a standard reference on international trade law and the dispute settlement mechanism.] (See International Trade Law
International trade law includes the appropriate rules and customs for handling trade between countries. However, it is also used in legal writings as trade between private sectors. This branch of law is now an independent field of study as mo ...
.)
He received a PhD from the European University Institute
The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute and an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established by the member states to contribu ...
in Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
(1990). He also holds a Licence en Droit magna cum laude from the University of Antwerp
The University of Antwerp ( nl, Universiteit Antwerpen) is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UA'', but ''UAntwerpen'' is more recently used. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 stud ...
and an LL.M. from the University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
Law School.[
]
Books
* Charnovitz, Steve, Debra P. Steger, and Peter van den Bossche, eds., ''Law in the service of human dignity," Cambridge University Press, 2005, , 9781139448420;
* van den Bossche, Peter, ''The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization,'' Cambridge University Press, 2008, , 9780521898900, 9780521727594, 9780521727596;
*Schneider, Hildegard, and Peter van den Bossche, eds. ''Protection of cultural diversity from a European and international perspective,'' Vol. 9. Intersentia Uitgevers NV, 2008. ,9050958648;
*van den Bossche, Peter, and Denise Prévost, ''Essentials of WTO law, '' Cambridge University Press, 2016, , 978110703583X, 9781107638938, 9781107638933;
*van den Bossche, Peter, Leo Henry, and Werner Zdouc. ''The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization: Text, Cases and Materials, '' Cambridge University Press, 2017, ,971107694299.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:van den Bossche, Peter
European University Institute alumni
Living people
Academic staff of Maastricht University
University of Michigan Law School alumni
Academic staff of the University of Bern
1959 births
Members of the Appellate Body
International law scholars
International trade law
University of Antwerp alumni