Common use of Regional Clause in Contracts

Regional. 6.3.1.1 The status of DSB decisions in the EC legal order. In a number of highly controversial cases, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has decided that, even though the EC is legally bound by the WTO agreements and the decisions of the DSB, neither the EU member states nor EU citizens may invoke WTO rules or DSB decisions to challenge the validity of EC legislative acts.147 This approach has been confronted with strong criticism among legal scholars.148 145 Idem, p. 436, supporting a proposal submitted by the EC to the WIPO Committee of Experts, according to which the election of one organization as dispute settlement forum should foreclose recourse to the other one. 146 Ibid., advocating the accordance of “great weight” to decisions of the other respective dispute settlement organ, but refusing a legally binding effect. 147 ECJ – Portugal/Council, C-149/96 – European Court Reports (ECR) 1999, I-8395 [hereinafter Portugal/Council]; ECJ – OGT Fruchthandelsgesellschaft mbH/Hauptzollamt Hamburg-St. ▇▇▇▇▇, C-307/99 – ECR 2001, I-3159; specifically for the TRIPS Agreement, see ECJ – Dior and ▇▇▇▇▇▇, joint cases C-300/98 and C-392/98 – ECR 2000, I-11307, and ECJ – Schieving-Nijstad vof and others/▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, C-89/99 – ECR 2001, I-5851. All decisions are also available on the ECJ’s website at <▇▇▇▇://▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇.▇▇▇>. 148 For an overview of the different opinions see ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇/Nadakavukaren ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, The Relation- ship between World Trade Organization Law, National and Regional Law, in: Journal of Interna- tional Economic Law 1998, 91ff.; Peers, Fundamental Right or Political Whim? WTO Law and the