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...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | Afrikaans |
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North-West University
2021-12-01
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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. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-19T14:23:37Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-d72d68555bee401f991fd2a6b94b640a |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1727-3781 |
language | Afrikaans |
last_indexed | 2024-12-19T14:23:37Z |
publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
publisher | North-West University |
record_format | Article |
series | Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal |
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 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT nnamdistanislausumenze isthewtoappellatebodyinlimbotherootsofthecrisisinthewtodisputesettlementbodyandtheavailableroutesnavigatingthequagmire |