Özet:

The legal basis of the multilateral trading system in the international arena is determined by the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its Annex Agreements (The WTO Agreements). The WTO supersed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1947), which had been put into place provisionally, but applied until 1994. Nevertheless, provisions of the 1947 GATT agreement were not revoked by the WTO Agreement; on the contrary, together with the developments made during the negotiation rounds made after 1947, they were incorporated into the 1994 WTO Agreements. With the entry into force of the WTO Agreemenst, world trade has been shaped on a legal basis, consisting of about 60 agreements, annexes, understandings and decisions provided under the WTO umbrella. The principle of non-discrimination forms the basis of this legal structure. Although the definition and application of this principle, which is composed of the Most Favored Nation (MFN) and National Treatment rules, seems simple, the complexity of the implementation is realized apparently when the Panel and Appellate Body reports are examined. In addition, the existence of the exceptions, leading to deviation from these rules, makes the implementation more complex. In this regard, understanding the application of the principle of non-discrimination in the WTO law is crucial for Turkey, which joined the WTO on 26 March 1995, when preparing its legislation on foreign trade and defending its rights in a possible panel

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