There is a growing clamor and#8213; particularly from the main beneficiaries of
globalization and#8213; that rules need to be established to govern the international
economy, with a specific focus on questions such as copyright violations,
trade sanctions, and protections for increased foreign investment.

While there is little doubt that globalization is a major contributor to
changes in the definition, boundaries and nature of law, the question remains
as to how much law and regulation from different sources is compatible with
the assumptions of economic globalization. From a market perspective the point
at which state law and regulation move from and#8216;legitimateand#8217; non-economic
interests into the and#8216;illegitimateand#8217; restriction of trade and investment will
materialize much sooner than it will from other perspectives. These
theoretical questions arise in concrete form for the decisions of
international economic institutions such as the WTO.

This thoughtful work focuses on the different forms of law which create the
legal infrastructure of economic globalization and on how they interact with
one another. It also explains how law is used both to maintain and oppose
aspects of globalization. In addition it evaluates the governance of the
global political economy in terms of the standards of the Rule of Law.