Peter van den Bossche (born 1959) is a professor of

international economic law International economic law is a dynamic and evolving field of international law that governs the regulation and conduct of states, international organizations, and private entities in the global economic landscape. This field encompasses a diverse r ...

at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

( World Trade Institute). In 2018 he was elected president of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL). He served as a judge on the

Appellate Body The Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTOAB) is a standing body of seven persons that hears appeals from reports issued by Judicial panel, panels in disputes brought on by WTO members. The WTOAB can uphold, modify or reverse the le ...

of the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

(WTO) from 2009-2017, following nomination by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and appointment and re-appointment by the

Member states of the World Trade Organization The original members of the World Trade Organization are the parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) after ratifying the Uruguay Round Agreements, and the European Communities. They obtained this status at the entry into for ...

. In December 2013 his appointment was renewed. With the end of his formal appointment at the end of 2017, US-driven delays in appointing his replacement alongside US blocking of other key

WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

vacancies has meant a growing crisis for the

-based multilateral trading system. The election of van den Bossche (an outgoing WTO judge) as SIEL president is considered by some a sign of both defiance to economic nationalism and support for the rules-based multilateral system. Prior to his appointment at the University of Bern, he was employed at the Faculty of Law of

Maastricht University Maastricht University (abbreviated as UM; ) is a public university, public research university in Maastricht, Netherlands. Founded in 1976, it is the second youngest of the thirteen List of universities in the Netherlands, Dutch universities. In ...

(1992-2016), where he was senior lecturer from 1993-2001, and

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

International economic law International economic law is a dynamic and evolving field of international law that governs the regulation and conduct of states, international organizations, and private entities in the global economic landscape. This field encompasses a diverse r ...

from 2001-2016. From 2005-2009 he was head of department of the Department of International and European Law. In 2007 he founded the Institute for Globalization and International Regulation. From 1990 to 1992, he worked as référendaire at the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and, from 1997 to 2001, as senior legal advisor to the WTO Appellate Body in Geneva. He serves on the Advisory Board of several academic law journals: ''Journal of World Investment and Trade''; ''Journal of International Economic Law''; and ''Revista Latinoamericana de Derecho Comercial Internacional''. He is also on the advisory board for the ''WTO Chairs Programme'' of the World Trade Organization. Through its various editions, his book ''The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization'' has become a standard reference on international trade law and the dispute settlement mechanism. (See

International Trade Law International trade law includes the appropriate rules and customs for handling trade between countries. However, it is also used in legal writings as trade between private sectors. This branch of law is now an independent field of study as m ...

.) He received a PhD from the

European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral research-intensive university and an intergovernmental organisation with juridical personality, established by its founding member states to contribu ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

(1990). He also holds a Licence en Droit magna cum laude from the

University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp () is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UAntwerp''. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 students, which makes it the third-largest university in Flanders. ...

and an LL.M. from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Law School.

Books

* Charnovitz, Steve, Debra P. Steger, and Peter van den Bossche, eds., ''Law in the service of human dignity,'' Cambridge University Press, 2005, , 9781139448420; * van den Bossche, Peter, ''The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization,'' Cambridge University Press, 2008, , 9780521898900, 9780521727594, 9780521727596; *Schneider, Hildegard, and Peter van den Bossche, eds. ''Protection of cultural diversity from a European and international perspective,'' Vol. 9. Intersentia Uitgevers NV, 2008. ,9050958648; *van den Bossche, Peter, and Denise Prévost, ''Essentials of WTO law, '' Cambridge University Press, 2016, , 978110703583X, 9781107638938, 9781107638933; *van den Bossche, Peter, Leo Henry, and Werner Zdouc. ''The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization: Text, Cases and Materials, '' Cambridge University Press, 2017, ,971107694299.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:van den Bossche, Peter European University Institute alumni Living people Academic staff of Maastricht University University of Michigan Law School alumni Academic staff of the University of Bern 1959 births Members of the Appellate Body International law scholars International trade law University of Antwerp alumni