International Trade Law Ensures Social Justice in Free Trade

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-531-7_45How to use a DOI?

Keywords

International Commercial Law; Free Trade Agreement; Social Justice

Abstract

Free trade represents a fundamental aspect of freedom in general. It embodies the potential for states, through various international trade agreements, to intervene in order to safeguard freedom itself. However, an opposing perspective holds that state intervention in free trade is impermissible, as such actions contradict the very essence of freedom. This tension gives rise to a paradox within the discourse on free trade, particularly when values such as social justice are deemed secondary or even irrelevant within liberal economic frameworks. To analyze the paradox of state intervention in free trade and to identify the legal rationale that justifies the role of the state in ensuring social justice without undermining economic freedom. This study employs a normative legal research method, examining primary and secondary legal materials from international trade law, including principles embedded in bilateral and multilateral trade agreements. The analysis explores theoretical foundations supporting the coexistence of state intervention and the preservation of individual economic freedom. The study finds that legal principles within international trade law, which initially appear to restrict free trade through regulatory interventions, in fact function to protect and balance freedom. These principles enable states to uphold fairness, equality, and justice within the global trade system, thereby preventing domination and exploitation that could arise from unregulated markets. State intervention in free trade, when grounded in international legal principles, does not negate freedom but rather reinforces it by promoting social and economic justice. Thus, free trade and social justice are not inherently contradictory but mutually reinforcing within a balanced legal framework.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yasdan Rivai
AU  - Agustining Agustining
AU  - Kif Aminanto
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/03
TI  - International Trade Law Ensures Social Justice in Free Trade
BT  - Proceedings of the 1st International Forum on Psychology, Law, and Education (IFPLE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 435
EP  - 447
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-531-7_45
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-531-7_45
ID  - Rivai2026
ER  -