The Holy See, Social Justice, and International Trade Law: Assessing the Social Mission of the Catholic Church in the Gatt-Wto System
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THE HOLY SEE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW: ASSESSING THE SOCIAL MISSION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE GATT-WTO SYSTEM By Copyright 2014 Fr. Alphonsus Ihuoma Submitted to the graduate degree program in Law and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D) ________________________________ Professor Raj Bhala (Chairperson) _______________________________ Professor Virginia Harper Ho (Member) ________________________________ Professor Uma Outka (Member) ________________________________ Richard Coll (Member) Date Defended: May 15, 2014 The Dissertation Committee for Fr. Alphonsus Ihuoma certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: THE HOLY SEE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW: ASSESSING THE SOCIAL MISSION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE GATT- WTO SYSTEM by Fr. Alphonsus Ihuoma ________________________________ Professor Raj Bhala (Chairperson) Date approved: May 15, 2014 ii ABSTRACT Man, as a person, is superior to the state, and consequently the good of the person transcends the good of the state. The philosopher Jacques Maritain developed his political philosophy thoroughly informed by his deep Catholic faith. His philosophy places the human person at the center of every action. In developing his political thought, he enumerates two principal tasks of the state as (1) to establish and preserve order, and as such, guarantee justice, and (2) to promote the common good. The state has such duties to the people because it receives its authority from the people. The people possess natural, God-given right of self-government, the exercise of which they voluntarily invest in the state. One cannot agree any less with Maritain. During her many years of theological reflection and writing on modern economic issues, the Catholic Church has confirmed that the constitutive purpose of the economy is to serve the common good. The economy is legitimate in the Catholic Church’s tradition only if it meets the material needs of every member of the human family and the moral demands of justice and solidarity. In other words, the economy should work to serve the needs of the people and not the other way around. One can understand the rationale behind the teaching of the Catholic Church especially as enunciated in the papal encyclicals and exhortations, the Catholic Social Doctrine, and other teachings of the Magisterium. The whole essence of the Catholic social teaching is to safeguard and promote recognition of, and respect for, human dignity. The Catholic Church does not just teach. She reaches out to the whole world as the central part of her universal mission to announce the Gospel message as a light to dispel any darkness that bedevils the dignity of the human person. God created the world for the common good and development of all human beings. The dignity of the human person is a central issue in the Church’s universal mission. The Catholic Church evangelizes the whole world by reaching out to all the nooks and crannies of the earth for that purpose. She reaches out to governments of the world, to every individual, organization, and institution to proclaim the Good News to every soul. The Holy See puts up a presence in the international arena for the purpose of raising the moral voice of the Catholic Church on issues that concern the human person. This mission takes the Holy See to the United Nations and other international and regional organizations. The focus here is the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), hereinafter referred to as “GATT-WTO system.” Through its presence at the World Trade Organization, the Holy See gets the opportunity to raise its prophetic voice in defense of the dignity of iii the human person on economic, social, and political issues. A very important concern that needs to be addressed more is whether the Holy See, the representative body for the Catholic Church, is as effective as it ought to be in raising its moral voice on issues within the GATT-WTO system which may drastically affect the true and full realization of God-given human dignity. Obviously, the Holy See mounts some influence in the international arena, but whether its influence is effective enough is another question. iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my late parents, Matilda and Kerian Ihuoma and my late sister Laeticia Oluchi Otuosorochi Oscar Jatua and to all who make sacrifices to promote the dignity of the human person all over the world. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In his Encyclical Letter Peace on Earth, Pope Saint John XXIII taught, “Any human society, if it is to be well-ordered and productive, must lay down as a foundation this principle: that every human being is a person; his nature is endowed with intelligence and free will. By virtue of this, he has rights and duties of his own, flowing directly and simultaneously from his very nature, which are therefore universal, inviolable, and inalienable. If we look upon the dignity of the human person in the light of divinely revealed truth, we cannot help but esteem it far more highly…” [Pope John XXIII, Peace on Earth (1963) 9-10.] At the center of all Catholic social teaching are the transcendence of God and the dignity of the human person. The human person is the clearest reflection of God's presence in the world. All of the Church's work in pursuit of both justice and peace is designed to protect and promote the dignity of every person. In 1986, the Catholic bishops of the United States, contributing to Catholic social teaching, wrote, “Catholic social teaching, like much philosophical reflection, distinguishes three dimensions of basic justice: commutative justice, distributive justice, and social justice. Commutative justice calls for fundamental fairness in all agreements and exchanges between individuals or private social groups. Distributive justice requires that the allocation of income, wealth, and power in society be evaluated in light of its effects on persons whose basic material needs are unmet... Social justice implies that persons have an obligation to be active and productive participants in the life of society and that society has a duty to enable them to participate in this way.” [U.S. Bishops, Economic Justice for All (1986) 68-71.] The teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church is informative and thought-provoking. In Catholic thought, social justice is not merely a secular or humanitarian matter. Social justice is a reflection of God's essential respect and concern for each person and an effort to protect the essential human freedom necessary for each person to achieve his or her destiny as a child of God. I am a human person and my dignity is priceless, and so is every other human being anywhere in the world. The Catholic social teaching which is the hub of the Church’s social mission is so invaluable as to attract any inquisitive mind and inspire people to explore more into its contents and make contributions on how the Church can do more. My inquisitive mind started with my immediate family vision, particularly my parents Matilda and Kerian, thanks be to God for their lives, though now in heaven. I was exposed early in life to appreciate the dignity of every human being as a Catholic Christian. I thank every member of my family. I thank my diocesan bishop, late bishop Victor Chikwe, who gave me the opportunity for further studies. May his soul rest in peace! My unalloyed respect and gratitude go to my Supervisor and Chairman of the Dissertation Committee, Professor Raj Bhala, Rice Distinguished Professor of Law, and his family. In the first place, without Prof Bhala, I wouldn’t have been admitted into the S.J.D program of The Kansas University School of Law. A faculty member told me about vi his graciousness and readiness to help anybody in need. And so, I contacted him for help. Without seeing me in person, he volunteered to chair my Dissertation Committee which was a precondition for admission into the S.J.D program. Since I started my S.J.D program, his family has been a great inspiration to me. More so, without Professor Bhala’s inspiration, magnanimous support and encouragement, my S.J.D research would not have been a success. I benefited tremendously from his International Trade Law classes, his books which he gave me free of charge, his mentoring, and supervision. Professor Bhala is a renowned authority in the field of International Trade Law. I am indebted to him and his family. In no small measure, I am indebted to Professor Virginia Harper Ho. I heard about her academic versatility and thoroughness, and I approached her to assist me and she accepted without hesitation. She supervised my independent research. I respect her kindness, humility and high intellect. She opened my eyes to the depth of researching into difficult topics. She has been a great inspiration to me in my research project. I am also indebted to Professor Uma Outka, a member of the Dissertation Committee who was also my teacher in Environmental Law and Climate Change seminar. She also gave me some support. I owe a great deal of my gratitude to Richard Coll, the Policy Advisor for Latin America and Global Trade, Office of International Justice and Peace, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington D.C. who agreed to be my External Examiner. The story of my academic progress cannot be complete without a spot for Professor Don Smith, the Director of the Graduate program at the Denver University Sturm College of Law. He was instrumental to the success of my LL.M program in Natural Resources and Environmental Law and Policy at the Sturm College of Law.