New (Paradigms In) International Economic Law

Since the birth of the Journal of International Economic Law (JIEL) in 1998, the foundations of international economic law have undergone multidimensional changes. Emerging political and economic challenges have shaped international economic law into becoming inherently dynamic; not only have new frameworks developed for analyses of international economic relations, but novel social and environmental aspects of government policy now also fall within the field’s ambit. These challenges have shaken the normative foundations of international economic law and new paradigms in this field of law have emerged. Recent developments addressing matters ranging from the climate crisis to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic signify a turn in the WTO from negotiating trade rules to addressing pressing concerns facing humankind. When JIEL was first established, civil society renewed its calls for the inclusion of social and environmental concerns in so-called ‘trade and …’ policies. Today, the interlinkages between trade and other issues form an integral part of the international trading system. These new challenges and shifts in economic policy bring (some) traditional understandings of international economic law into question, and challenge the various normative underpinnings of international economic law in three ways: first, in the rise of novel approaches to international economic norm creation; second, in the expansion of subject areas covered by international economic rules; and third, in the steady disintegration of the traditional binaries, such as those between hard and soft law, between public and private actors, and between human rights and investment. These three changes have further provoked the development of analytical frameworks to study these norms. The eclectic and wide-ranging contributions in this special issue offer insightful critiques and provocative challenges to the community of international economic law actors facing unprecedented problems as the Journal celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary.