| Abstract: | The purpose of the study was to reveal environmental subordination of
international trade institutions. It also determined the fate of the environment
after the accession of Ethiopia to the international trade institutions. There is
no single institution enforcing trade-environment debates. However, there are
no clear and adequate legal provisions in the existing international or regional
trade organization legal frameworks recognizing the environment as legal
personality. International trade instigates one of the environmental problems
like global warming, environmental degradation and economic globalization. It
is also a failure of regulating TNCs which has led to further the problem. The
general objective was to analyze the legal frameworks of international trade
institutions and the danger that it may pose on the environment of Ethiopia. In
order to attain the general objective, the study tried to point out the role of
TNCs subordination of environmental concerns using doctrinal legal research
methods complemented by some non-doctrinal/socio-legal research methods
and by employing content analysis of qualitative data analysis. The findings of
show that the Ethiopian policies and laws will be adversely affected by the legal
frameworks of the international trade institutions. When Ethiopia accedes to the
WTO or ratify other regional FTA Agreements, the applicability of the
constitutionally guaranteed rights will be highly limited as a result of the weak
legal framework of international institutions in protecting the environment. In
sum, the legal frameworks of those international trade institutions will
negatively impact on the Ethiopian environment. One may conclude that the
efforts of the Ethiopian Government to accede to the WTO may negatively affect
the country’s environment because the legal frameworks of the international
trade institutions exacerbate poverty and environmental degradation which are
against the Ethiopian GTP and the CRGE. Surprisingly, there is an economic
growth without Ethiopia has accessed to WTO. Thus, it is recommended that the
Ethiopian government should establish an independent and permanent
environmental adjudicatory body in order to battle environmental harms
caused by joining to the international trade institutions, like WTO. Finally, if
the Government aspires to protect the Ethiopian environment, it should also
refrain it self from accessing to the international trade institutions. |
