Search results

Introduction: Twenty years ago, while I was writing my doctoral thesis on voluntary export restraints and Article XX GATT, I applied for an internship with the GATT Secretariat. At that time the GATT Secretariat was a body with few lawyers and many economists. Law did not matter that much; indeed it was difficult for a young lawyer to get accepted as a "stagiare". I insisted and eventually was accepted. Two years later, while studying with John Jackson I learned about the difference between power and rule-oriented diplomacy. GATT's reliance on diplomacy did function reasonably well, even without a legal mechanism, yet there were spectacular cases of non-compliance and the system was always prone to "blackmail". Compared to GATT, the WTO has come a long way. Nobody would have imagined at the start of the Uruguay Round that the result of the negotiations would be a World Trade Organisation with a binding dispute settlement mechanism. We went from a power-oriented to a rule-oriented system, which until now dealt reasonably well with more than 270 dispute settlement cases. Still, there are challenges to the system of which I would like to address four: Rulemaking versus Jurisprudence; Dispute Settlement; Avoidance Implementation; Dispute Settlement Reform

The dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organisation has been referred to as the jewel in the crown of the WTO. Reviewing more than twenty years of the system's operation, this volume takes stock by providing an in-depth analysis of key issues that have emerged. The book collects and updates papers by a group of eminent experts that were presented at an international conference at the College of Europe in Bruges. The fundamental question of whether the system is in good shape or whether changes are necessary is addressed through five themes. Firstly, the book looks at the interpretive function of the dispute settlement system and questions whether rulings are capable of "gap-filling". Secondly, under the heading 'Jurisdiction and Applicable Law' we cover the thorny issue of how public international law can be integrated into the dispute resolution system. Thirdly, regarding problems associated with implementation, we ask whether the system ensures satisfactory compliance with its rules and rulings or whether financial remedies need to be added. Furthermore, through themes four and five we compare the WTO dispute settlement system with the dispute settlement system contained in the Free Trade Agreements, as well as the investor-state arbitration system (ISDS). We investigate how these two different systems can influence each other and learn from one another. With respect to the reform debate on ISDS, for example, the question was raised whether the WTO dispute settlement system could be considered as a model for such a reform. This review comes to the conclusion that the system is functioning, if not perfectly, at least reasonably well. Where problems are identified, solutions are suggested to improve the system