Recalibrating the WTO Dispute Settlement System: Towards New Standards of Appellate Review

Abstract

This paper analyses the legal nature of the dispute settlement system in the World Trade Organization. It places the Panel stage at the heart of it and stresses the crucial role of the World Trade Organization Secretariat. It submits proposals for structural reform. It qualifies Panel reports as a product of a legal agency process in global administrative law. It consequently recalibrates the role of the Appellate Body with a view to bring about checks and balances. This paper explores the neglected role of standards of review of the Appellate Body vis-à-vis Panels. While securing a continued leading role of the Appellate Body on constitutional issues and fundamental principles of the system, it suggests a more deferential standard of reasonableness in reviewing Panel findings on World Trade Organization rules.