SavedAdd your journal

Journals / The Boğaziçi Law Review / 2026 / Cilt: 4 Sayı: 1

Benefits of WTO Accession for a Civil War-Torn Country with Tattered Institutions

İç Savaşın Yıprattığı ve Kurumları Çökmüş Bir Ülke İçin DTÖ’ye Katılımın Faydaları

Hüseyin Çağrı Çorlu(NECMETTIN ERBAKAN UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF LAW)0000-0002-8205-9596
Pages
1–29
Publication Date
2026-06-30
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

After addressing the challenges that the new governance would have to overcome in securing these benefits, the study concludes with a proposition that the new government of Syria should start accession negotiations without any delay.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Challenges Syria is facing in its path towards having an effective government with working institutions and a stable economy abound and can hardly be comprehended in full.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Support from international organizations is a prerequisite for a resilient government and its extraterritorial recognition which would empower the new leaders of Syria in dealing with the complexities ahead.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:After addressing the challenges that the new governance would have to overcome in securing these benefits, the study concludes with a proposition that the new government of Syria should start accession negotiations without any delay.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Suriye · DTÖ · Katılım

Abstract

Challenges Syria is facing in its path towards having an effective government with working institutions and a stable economy abound and can hardly be comprehended in full. Leaders of new regime have limited experience of statecraft, struggles for ensuring security in urban as well as rural areas of the country are still ongoing, while rule of law has yet to appear. Furthermore, rivals and direct uprisings against the legitimacy of the prospective central government are ubiquitous. Support from international organizations is a prerequisite for a resilient government and its extraterritorial recognition which would empower the new leaders of Syria in dealing with the complexities ahead. In this respect an accession to World Trade Organization (WTO), the main international institution with 166 Members with an expansive mandate over the governance of international trade represents a tremendous opportunity for the new government to overcome at least some of these complexities. This study envisages the benefits of Syria’s accession of WTO to be threefold. First, given the position of WTO governing 98 per cent of world trade with a membership roster consisting of an overwhelming majority of international society seconded only to the United Nations, the accession procedure itself would provide international legitimacy, recognition and de jure character to the new government. Second, the Organization’s intensive Article XII membership procedure ensures that a prospective member would have legal and structural framework prerequisite for the effective functioning of financial and economic national administrative institutions. Finally the accession to WTO would enhance the new government’s ability to consolidate central authority and thereby tilt the balance of a national compromise favorable to the interests of the central governance. After addressing the challenges that the new governance would have to overcome in securing these benefits, the study concludes with a proposition that the new government of Syria should start accession negotiations without any delay.

Özet

Suriye’nin etkin bir hükümete, işleyen kurumlara ve istikrarlı bir ekonomiye sahip olma yolunda karşı karşıya olduğu zorluklar son derece fazladır ve bunların tamamını kapsamlı bir şekilde kavramak neredeyse imkânsızdır. Yeni rejimin liderleri devlet yönetimi konusunda sınırlı bir deneyime sahiptir. Ülkenin hem kentsel hem de kırsal bölgelerinde güvenliğin sağlanmasına yönelik mücadeleler hâlen devam etmekte olup hukukun üstünlüğü ise henüz tam anlamıyla tesis edilememiştir. Bunun yanı sıra gelecekte kurulması öngörülen merkezi hükümetin meşruiyetine karşı çıkan muhalif gruplar ve doğrudan ayaklanmalar ülke genelinde yaygın durumdadır. Uluslararası kuruluşların desteği, dayanıklı bir hükümetin kurulması ve bu hükümetin uluslararası alanda tanınması açısından temel bir ön koşuldur. Böyle bir tanınma, Suriye›nin yeni liderlerinin karşı karşıya oldukları karmaşık sorunlarla daha etkin şekilde mücadele edebilmesini sağlayacaktır. Bu bağlamda, uluslararası ticaretin yönetiminde geniş yetkilere sahip olan ve 166 üye devleti bulunan temel uluslararası kuruluş niteliğindeki Dünya Ticaret Örgütü’ne (DTÖ) katılım, yeni hükümet açısından bu karmaşık sorunların en azından bir kısmını aşmak için önemli bir fırsat sunmaktadır. Bu çalışma, Suriye’nin DTÖ’ye katılımının sağlayacağı faydaların üç temel boyutta ele alınabileceğini öngörmektedir. İlk olarak, dünya ticaretinin yaklaşık %98›ini düzenleyen ve üyelik yapısı bakımından Birleşmiş Milletler’i takip eden en kapsamlı uluslararası örgüt olan DTÖ’nün konumu dikkate alındığında katılım sürecinin kendisi yeni hükümete uluslararası meşruiyet, tanınma ve de jure (hukuken tanınmış) statü kazandıracaktır. İkinci olarak, DTÖ Anlaşması›nın XII. Maddesi kapsamında yürütülen ayrıntılı üyelik süreci, aday ülkenin mali ve ekonomik alandaki ulusal idari kurumlarının etkin biçimde işleyebilmesi için gerekli hukuki ve kurumsal çerçevenin oluşturulmasını güvence altına almaktadır. Son olarak DTÖ’ye katılım, yeni hükümetin merkezi otoriteyi güçlendirme kapasitesini artıracak ve böylece ulusal uzlaşma sürecindeki güç dengesinin merkezi yönetimin çıkarları doğrultusunda şekillenmesine katkıda bulunacaktır. Çalışma, yeni yönetimin bu faydaları elde edebilmek için aşması gereken zorlukları değerlendirdikten sonra Suriye’nin yeni hükümetinin DTÖ’ye katılım müzakerelerine vakit kaybetmeksizin başlaması gerektiği yönündeki öneriyle sona ermektedir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Çorlu, H. Ç. (2026). Benefits of WTO Accession for a Civil War-Torn Country with Tattered Institutions. The Boğaziçi Law Review, Cilt: 4 Sayı: 1, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.69800/blr.1901728

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (144)

  1. Afghanistan International, ‘Taliban and UNAMA Discuss Reactivating Afghanistan’s WTO Membership’ (2024) accessed 28 June 2026.
  2. Agreement on Agriculture (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  3. Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  4. Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  5. Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  6. Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  7. Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  8. Agreement on Rules of Origin (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  9. Agreement on Safeguards (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  10. Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  11. Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  12. Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  13. Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  14. Agreement on Trade Facilitation (22 February 217) LT/UR/A-1A/
  15. Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1C/
  16. Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  17. Baron A, ‘Yemen’s Transitional Road Map to Chaos’ (2015) accessed 26 January 2026.
  18. COM(2005)476 Final (Brussels 12 April 2005).
  19. Differential and More Favourable Treatment Reciprocity and Fuller Participation of Developing Countries (28 November 1979) BISD 33S/21
  20. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1947 (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A
  21. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  22. General Agreement on Trade in Services (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1B/
  23. General interpretative note to Annex 1A LT/UR/A-1A
  24. International Crisis Group, ‘After the Aid Axe: Charting a Path to Self-reliance in Afghanistan’ (2025) Crisis Group Asia Report No: 350.
  25. Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, (15 April 1994) 1867 U.N.T.S. 154, 33 I.L.M. 1144.
  26. Marrakesh Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  27. Understanding in Respect of Waivers of Obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/
  28. Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A 2/
  29. Understanding on the Balance-of-Payments Provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A
  30. Understanding on the Interpretation of Article II:1(b) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A
  31. Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XVII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A
  32. Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A
  33. Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A
  34. Barfield C, Free Trade, Sovereignty, Democracy: The Future of World Trade Organization (2001).
  35. Cattaneo O and Primo Braga CA, ‘Everything You Always Wanted to Know About WTO Accession’ (2009) World Bank Policy Research Working Paper.
  36. Charnovitz S, ‘Mapping the Law of WTO Accession’ in Merit E. Janow et al. (eds), The WTO Dispute Settlement, Governance, and Developing Countries (Juris Publishing 2008) 1083-125.
  37. De Leon JP and Al-Akhali R, ‘Domestic Framework for Making and Enforcing Policies’ in Uri Dadush & Chiedu Osakwe (eds), WTO Accession and Trade Multilateralism: Case Studies and Lessons from the WTO at Twenty (WTO 2015) 729-40.
  38. Evenett SJ and Primo Braga CA, ‘WTO Accession: Moving the Goalposts?’ in “Newfarmer, Richard (ed), Trade, Doha, and Development: A Window into the Issues (World Bank 2006) 231-45.
  39. Ferrantino MJ, ‘Policy Anchors: Do Free Trade Agreements Serve As Vehicles for Developing Country Policy Reform?’ (2006) US ITC Office of Economics Working Paper No:2006-04-A.
  40. Golub SS, ‘Openness to Foreign Direct Investment in Services: An International Comparative Analysis’ (2009) 32/8 The World Economy 1245.
  41. Guzman AT et al., International Trade Law (3rd edn, Wolter Kluwer 2016).
  42. Finger JM and Schuler P, ‘Implementation of Uruguay Round Commitments’ (2000) 23/4 The World Economy 511.
  43. Haddad M et al., ‘The Structural Reform Implications of WTO Accession’ in Uri Dadush & Chiedu Osakwe (eds), WTO Accession and Trade Multilateralism: Case Studies and Lessons from the WTO at Twenty (WTO 2015) 81-121.
  44. Hoekman B and Roy J, ‘Benefiting from WTO Accession and Membership’ in Bernard Hoekman & Jamel Zarrouk (eds), Catching Up with the Competition: Trade Opportunities and Challenges for Arab Countries (University of Michigan Press 2010) 307-24.
  45. Hong Z, ‘China’s Accession to The WTO and Its Rule of Law’ (2016) 6 Journal of WTO and China 40.
  46. Hsiao M, ‘China and the GATT: Two Theories of Political Economy Explaining China’s Desire for Membership in the GATT’ (1994) 12/2 UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal 431.
  47. Irwin DA et al., The Genesis of GATT (Cambridge 2008).
  48. Lehne J, Crisis at the WTO: Is the Blocking of Appointments to the WTO Appellate Body by the United States Legally Justified? (Sui Generis 2019).
  49. Low P, Afghanistan: A Retrospective on Five Years of WTO Membership (ITC 2021).
  50. Michalopoulos C, ‘WTO Accession’ in Bernard Hoekman et al. (eds.), Development, Trade, and The WTO: A Handbook (World Bank 2002) 61-71.
  51. Moïsé E, ‘The Costs and Challenges of Implementing Trade Facilitation Measures’ (2013) OECD Trade Policy Papers No. 157.
  52. Office of the United States Trade Representative, ‘United States and European Union Sign Breakthrough Agreement on U.S. Beef Access to EU’ (2019) accessed 26 January 2026.
  53. Osakwe C and Dadush U, ‘Accession. Protocols As Building Blocks’ in Uri Dadush & Chiedu Osakwe (eds), WTO Accession and Trade Multilateralism: Case Studies and Lessons from the WTO at Twenty (WTO 2015) 909-16.
  54. Pauwelyn J, ‘WTO Dispute Settlement Post 2019: What to Expect?’ (2019) 22 JIEL 297.
  55. Reiter J, ‘Managing The Challenge of Acceding Post-Conflict States’ in Uri Dadush & Chiedu Osakwe (eds), WTO Accession and Trade Multilateralism: Case Studies and Lessons from the WTO at Twenty (WTO 2015) 608-20.
  56. The New Humanitarian, ‘Yemen fuel subsidy cuts hit poor hardest’ (2014) accessed 26 January 2026.
  57. Qin Y, ‘China and GATT: Accession Instead of Resumption’ (1993) 27 J. World Trade 77 79-80.
  58. Williams P, A Handbook on Accession to the WTO (Cambridge 2008).
  59. World Bank Group, ‘Development Policy Financing (DPF)’ accessed 26 January 2026.
  60. World Economic Forum, ‘Davos 2026: Special address by Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada’ (2026) accessed 28 June 2026.
  61. World Trade Organization, accessed 26 January 2026.
  62. World Trade Organization, ‘Afghanistan’ accessed 28 June 2026.
  63. World Trade Organization, ‘Derestriction of bilateral negotiating material from GATT rounds of negotiations’ accessed 28 June 2026.
  64. World Trade Organization, ‘Dispute settlement’ accessed 26 January 2026.
  65. World Trade Organization, ‘European Communities — Measures Concerning Meat and Meat Products (Hormones).
  66. World Trade Organization, ‘Groups in the Negotiations’ accessed 26 January 2026.
  67. World Trade Organization, ‘Groups in the Negotiations’ accessed 09 February 2026.
  68. World Trade Organization, ‘Technical Assistance Management System’ accessed 26 January 2026.
  69. World Trade Organization, ‘The Doha Round’ accessed 28 June 2026.
  70. World Trade Organization, ‘What is the WTO?’ accessed 26 January 2026.
  71. World Trade Organization, ‘WTO Technical Assistance And Training’ accessed 26 January 2026.
  72. WTO Annual Report, (WTO 2025).
  73. accessed 26 January 2026.
  74. (10 September 1986) L/6023.
  75. (30 March 1987) C/M/207.
  76. (31 July 1989) C/M/234.
  77. (4 November 1991) C/M/252.
  78. (17 March 1992) SPEC(88)13/Add.11.
  79. (27 October 1992) C/M/259.
  80. (19 November1992) L/7120.
  81. (14 July 1993) C/M/26.
  82. (21 July 1993) C/M/265.
  83. (12 November 1993) C/M/267.
  84. (24 January 1994) C/M/268.
  85. (10 March 1994) SR 49/71.
  86. (22 March 1994) C/M/270.
  87. (28 March 1994) L/7423.
  88. (28 February 1995) WT/GC/M/1.
  89. (17 August 1995) WT/GC/M/5.
  90. (01 November 1995) WT/ACC/RUS/4.
  91. (13 December 1995) WT/GC/M/8.
  92. (25 May 1996) WT/GC/M/11.
  93. (30 May 1996) WT/ACC/RUS/9/Add.1.
  94. (30 July 1996) WT/GC/M/12.
  95. (23 September 1996) WT/ACC/KAZ/3.
  96. (14 October 1996) WT/ACC/RUS/13/Add.1.
  97. (11 March 1997) WT/ACC/RUS/17.
  98. (02 December 1997) WT/ACC/RUS/23.
  99. (16 March 1998) WT/GC/M/26.
  100. (13 July 1998) WT/ACC/CHN/15.
  101. (31 July 1998) WT/ACC/KGZ/26.
  102. (30 September 1998) WT/GC/M/29.
  103. (09 April 1999) WT/ACC/EST/28.
  104. (22 June 1999) WT/ACC/KHM/2.
  105. (31 August 1999) WT/ACC/GEO/31.
  106. (21 March 2000) WT/AACC/CHN/17.
  107. (14 June 2000) WT/AACC/SPEC/CHN/1.
  108. (29 June 2000) WT/ACC/HRV/59.
  109. (14 July 2000) WT/ACC/ALB/51.
  110. (14 September 2000) W/GC/M/57.
  111. (07 November 2000) WT/ACC/LTU/52.
  112. (11 January 2001) WT/ACC/MOL/37.
  113. (01 October 2001 WT/ACC/CHN/49.
  114. (28 March 2002) WT/ACC/SPEC/RUS/25.
  115. (26 November 2002) WT/ACC/ARM/23.
  116. (27 January 2004) WT/ACC/TJK/6.
  117. (02 March 2005) WT/ACC/TJK/11.
  118. (07 April 2005) WT/GC/M/92.
  119. (02 December 2005) WT/ACC/TON/17.
  120. (01 November 2005) WT/ACC/SAU/61.
  121. (29 March 2006) WT/ACC/TJK/13.
  122. (27 October 2006) WT/ACC/VNM/48.
  123. (15 November 2007) WT/GC/M/110.
  124. (06 December 2007) WT/ACC/CPV/30.
  125. (25 January 2008) WT/ACC/UKR/152.
  126. (25 June 2008) WT/ACC/KAZ/67.
  127. (07 August 2008) WT/ACC/TJK/15.
  128. (04 June 2010) WT/ACC/TJK/17.
  129. (20 April 2011) WT/ACC/LBR/3.
  130. (05 December 2011) WT/ACC/CGR/38.
  131. (01 November 2011) WT/ACC/SAM/30.
  132. (17 November 2011) WT/ACC/RUS/70.
  133. (11 May 2011) WT/ACC/VUT/17.
  134. (01 October 2012) WT/ACC/LAO/45.
  135. (06 November 2012) WT/ACC/TJK/30.
  136. (04 October 2013) WT/ACC/YEM/42.
  137. (05 November 2014) WT/ACC/SYC/64.
  138. (23 June 2015) WT/ACC/KAZ/93.
  139. (09 October 2015) WT/ACC/LBR/23.
  140. (13 November 2015) WT/ACC/AFG/36, WT/MIN(15)/6.
  141. (21 February 2017) WT/GC/M/165.
  142. (14 October 2022) WT/ACC/COM/38.
  143. (18 January 2024) WT/ACC/COM/51.
  144. Evenett SJ and Primo Braga CA, ‘WTO Accession: Moving the Goalposts?’ in “Newfarmer, Richard (ed), Trade, Doha, and Development: A Window into the Issues (World Bank 2006) 231-45.