WTO 무역기술장벽협정 제2.5조 제1문의 투명성 의무에 대한 소고

Abstract

The transparency principle of the TBT agreement is one of the most important principles in the TBT agreement. There are many transparency principles in the TBT agreement regarding technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures, and standards, and this paper intends to evaluate the transparency obligations in the first sentence of Article 2.5 of the TBT Agreement only in terms of the technical regulations. Transparency obligations in TBT agreements can be largely classified into ex-ante and ex-post transparency obligations. Unlike the transparency obligations in Articles 2.9 and 2.10, the first sentence of Article 2.5 stipulates ex-post transparency obligation. The first sentence of Article 2.5 has an characteristic that is distinct from other TBT agreement’s transparency obligations in that it has the nature of a compulsory mechanism that shall explain its justification upon the request of another member. Therefore, this paper examines the nature of the first sentence of Article 2.5 of the TBT Agreement. First, the meaning of Article 2.5 was examined through the relationship between the first and second sentences of Article 2.5. The uniqueness of the first sentence of Article 2.5 was asserted through a review of three elements: ex post transparency obligations, compulsory mechanism, and upon the request of another member. Next, four requirements applied to the first sentence of Article 2.5 were identified and their specific contents were analyzed. Through this analysis, it was found that the requirement of ‘upon the request of another Member’ is a threshold question. It is also very relevant to international standards, especially because the justification of technical regulations shall be explained ‘in terms of to Articles 2.2 to 2.4’. Lastly, through the TBT norms of the FTAs, which supplement the transparency obligations of the TBT Agreement, it was argued that the information exchange mechanism through ‘requests’ further strengthens ex post transparency obligations that the TBT Agreement lacks, and that there is a need to respond with caution to the ex post transparency obligations.