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The Legal Question of Morality

The commercial seal hunt has faced significant opposition through campaigns and public opinion. Based on this opposition, the European Union (EU) adopted a regime in 2009, effectively shutting down the EU market for commercial seal products. This ban appears to be based on a European moral standard relating to the welfare of animals, and the EU has successfully defended this claim under the Dispute Settlement Process of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This article critically examines whether such a moral standard exists or whether it is merely an opinion without deeper moral contexts. It further discusses the problems relating to drawing moral conclusions based on ‘public opinion’ and responses to a possible accompanying ‘moral standard’. The article delves into the legal dimension of a ‘European morality’ and discusses in how far moral concerns have been dealt with under the WTO and before EU Courts. It becomes evident that whilst arguing for a European moral standard under the WTO, the EU has shown in European case law that the determination of moral standards rests with the nation states.