Jusletter

The UNESCO is currently elaborating a convention on cultual diversity to promote this concept vis-à-vis international trade rules. Experts mandated by the UNESCO should present a premilinary draft in June 2004. At the same time, the GATS requires the Members of the WTO to further liberalize international trade in services, including the audiovisual sector. This paper provides an introduction to the tensions between trade and culture related laws and policies in the light of the cinematographic industry, and outlines the rationales of promoting cultural identities and cultural diversity. This paper furthermore discusses new legal instruments (human rights, tax, competition and intellectual property laws) to maintain and improve cultural policies in order to insure diversity in the supply of cultural contents and pluralism of opinions and expressions.