Transportation Services and the World Trade Organisation

Maritime transport is a lifeline of international trade. In the era of globalisation door-to-door transport is emphasized which require more than one mode of transport—the multimodal transport, operates under the regulatory regime of different jurisdictions governed by different legal norms and institutional mechanisms. Legal rules –at national and international levels—developed on strictly separated lines with respect to the various modes: railway law is different from road laws, road law is different from air law, and the air law is different from maritime law and the affiliated activities during its interface at the airport, sea port and railway station is subject to principles and rules of their own. The legal regimes governing transport sector is analyzed in the context of ongoing WTO negotiations, to examine their compatibility under the legal framework of GATS. This work is of contemporary relevance which comprehends various regimes at the theoretical, substantive and institutional level for a harmonised holistic regime and is useful for policy makers, academicians and anyone who is interested in international trade law, maritime law and the WTO laws.