Finding space in the margins? Recognising the rights of indigenous peoples in the WTO

This chapter argues that the international legal regime is systemically divided between public international law and international economic law, with very little in the way of legal mechanisms to bridge the gulf between the two systems. Some interests of indigenous peoples, including those that relate to the protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, are recognised in the public international law system. However, there is considerable difficulty in finding space for the recognition of these interests in the system of international economic law. This conclusion is particularly problematic in light of the systemic pre-eminence of WTO (World Trade Organization) law, largely as a consequence of the power of its dispute resolution system.