Islamic Banking and Liberalization of Trade in Banking Services in the WTO

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is one of the most predominant organizations in regulating the international trade. The most important rules of the WTO on trade in services, are enunciated in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). All members’ legal systems must conform to the GATS and change laws and regulations that doesn’t correspond with it, including observers such as Iran who wish to become a main member through accession process. The main issue to be examined in this article would be the compatibility of the Islamic Banking Law that has arisen controversial questions about its compatibility with WTO’s legal system. Upon a comprehensive study of the GATS and The Islamic Banking Law, we conclude that the latter is in accordance with the GATS.