Transformation of the Principle of Non-Discrimination in International Economic Law

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K13514
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 05030:International law-related
• Research Institution: University of Nagasaki (2022-2023); Waseda University (2020-2021); The University of Tokyo (2019)
• Principal Investigator: Hirami Kenta 長崎県立大学, 国際社会学部, 准教授 (10812711)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 国際法 / 国際経済法 / 無差別原則 / 平等 / 公正性 / 国家 / 規制裁量

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this research, I examined how the non-discrimination principle in international economic law has been changing as the balance between international legal rules and the regulatory space of sovereign states is increasingly called into question. Specifically, I analyzed that the common understanding of “non-discrimination = equality of competitive conditions” is note absolute, and that the existing interpretative framework for the principle based on this stereotype can be reconstructed. Then, I examined what kind of interpretative modifications should be made to ensure adequate regulatory space of states, and finally proposed a new interpretative framework for the non-discrimination principle that can be adapted to the demands of modern states and society.

Free Research Field

国際法、国際経済法、国際紛争処理

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

かねてより国際経済法上の無差別原則は、その解釈適用の在り方をめぐって諸国の批判に晒されてきたが、こうした批判に通底するのは、紛争処理機関による当該原則の解釈実践が国家の主権的な規制裁量を不当に侵蝕しているのではないか、という強い懸念である。かかる課題に対処すべく、本研究は、無差別原則の解釈論的枠組を再構築することにより、当該原則が一方で平等規範としての本質を維持しつつ、他方で主権国家の規制裁量を適切に考慮するための方途を明らかにした。