Abstract:

European Community concludes international agreements as a legal person. There is no provision neither in the founding Treaty nor in these international agreements that states the effects of these international agreements in Community Law. For this reason, it is for the Community Courts to determine the effects of international agreements in Community Law. Community Courts developed an integrated case law about the the effects of international agreements and specially GATT 1947 and WTO Agreement and Its Annexes in Community Law. In this article these effects are stated by way of lining up and examining the related Community Courts decisions considering their date of adjudication. Community Courts determine that Community measures and national law should be interpreted as far as possible in the light of the provisions of international agreements which are binding upon the Community. Also it is stated that when the obligations derived from these agreements are not fulfilled by member states, an infringement action could be filed against them. Nonetheless, there is a difference between GATT 1947 and WTO Agreement and Its Annexes and other international agreements in connection with direct effect, review of legality and being used in action for damages. The latter agreements produce these effects if they have certain characteristics; however, as a rule GATT 1947 and WTO Agreement and Its Annexes cannot produce these effects because of their “structure and nature”. By this reason the question of whether the case law of Community Courts is coherent or not comes into the scene

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