Is the WTO Appellate Body in Limbo? The Roots of the Crisis in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body and the Available Routes Navigating the Quagmire

In its over 25 years' history, the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been touted as one of the most active and successful international adjudicatory systems in relation to other international dispute settlement fora. The process in the engagement of the syst...

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Main Author: Nnamdi Stanislaus Umenze
Format: Article
Language:Afrikaans
Published: North-West University 2021-12-01
Series:Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://perjournal.co.za/article/view/8580
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author Nnamdi Stanislaus Umenze
author_facet Nnamdi Stanislaus Umenze
author_sort Nnamdi Stanislaus Umenze
collection DOAJ
description In its over 25 years' history, the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been touted as one of the most active and successful international adjudicatory systems in relation to other international dispute settlement fora. The process in the engagement of the system presents a tripartite structure consisting of consultation, panel and appellate stages, and the enforcement proceedings. The functions of these processes help to promote the trust and confidence of the member states in the WTO trade dispute settlement system. Now the Appellate Body (AB) is paralysed following the incapacitation and consequential suspension of the appellate function of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), because of the insufficient membership caused by the United States blockade on the appointment process of AB members. The paper discusses the trajectory of the WTO dispute settlement reform from the GATT regime, the root cause of the suspension of the Appellate Body, and the options available for the disputants in and outside the WTO system. It concludes that the system possesses policy defects if the attitude of a single state can render the AB non-functional and should be transformed when the appellate system is resuscitated.
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spelling doaj.art-d72d68555bee401f991fd2a6b94b640a2022-12-21T20:17:41ZafrNorth-West UniversityPotchefstroom Electronic Law Journal1727-37812021-12-012410.17159/1727-3781/2021/v24i0a8580Is the WTO Appellate Body in Limbo? The Roots of the Crisis in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body and the Available Routes Navigating the QuagmireNnamdi Stanislaus Umenze0North-West UniversityIn its over 25 years' history, the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been touted as one of the most active and successful international adjudicatory systems in relation to other international dispute settlement fora. The process in the engagement of the system presents a tripartite structure consisting of consultation, panel and appellate stages, and the enforcement proceedings. The functions of these processes help to promote the trust and confidence of the member states in the WTO trade dispute settlement system. Now the Appellate Body (AB) is paralysed following the incapacitation and consequential suspension of the appellate function of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), because of the insufficient membership caused by the United States blockade on the appointment process of AB members. The paper discusses the trajectory of the WTO dispute settlement reform from the GATT regime, the root cause of the suspension of the Appellate Body, and the options available for the disputants in and outside the WTO system. It concludes that the system possesses policy defects if the attitude of a single state can render the AB non-functional and should be transformed when the appellate system is resuscitated.https://perjournal.co.za/article/view/8580WTOGATTDispute Settlement BodyAppellate BodyAppellate Body paralysisdispute settlement mechanism
spellingShingle Nnamdi Stanislaus Umenze
Is the WTO Appellate Body in Limbo? The Roots of the Crisis in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body and the Available Routes Navigating the Quagmire
Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal
WTO
GATT
Dispute Settlement Body
Appellate Body
Appellate Body paralysis
dispute settlement mechanism
title Is the WTO Appellate Body in Limbo? The Roots of the Crisis in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body and the Available Routes Navigating the Quagmire
title_full Is the WTO Appellate Body in Limbo? The Roots of the Crisis in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body and the Available Routes Navigating the Quagmire
title_fullStr Is the WTO Appellate Body in Limbo? The Roots of the Crisis in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body and the Available Routes Navigating the Quagmire
title_full_unstemmed Is the WTO Appellate Body in Limbo? The Roots of the Crisis in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body and the Available Routes Navigating the Quagmire
title_short Is the WTO Appellate Body in Limbo? The Roots of the Crisis in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body and the Available Routes Navigating the Quagmire
title_sort is the wto appellate body in limbo the roots of the crisis in the wto dispute settlement body and the available routes navigating the quagmire
topic WTO
GATT
Dispute Settlement Body
Appellate Body
Appellate Body paralysis
dispute settlement mechanism
url https://perjournal.co.za/article/view/8580
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