Doesn't stop the muppets though who can't oreintate their approach plates to north.... or glider pilots.... sorry chaps we know we have to give way to you but flying a directly OPPOSING downwind isn't really fair.
I'm unclear exactly how international this is, but the UK rules of the air require any aircraft close to a traffic circuit to follow the directions of that circuit unless specifically agreed with ATC. There's no exemption to that for gliders that I know of.
G