Korea therefore urged the United States to withdraw its opposition and expressed its willingness to work with all WTO members to explore improvements to the WTO dispute settlement system. Rather, the dispute settlement breakdown engages the possibility of a partial suspension of the obligation in Article 23 DSU to seek authorization before retaliation. // show link for a script for minutes of this meeting when available 12 October - 14 December 2020 / Online / CEPR, the Graduate Institute Geneva, GSEM, UNCTAD and the World Trade Organization. This will alert our moderators to take action. not intended as a complete account of the issues. As a result, dispute settlement stopping at the panel level is now the norm, resembling how dispute settlement used to work during the GATT era. > Problems viewing this page? Secretariat is regulated by the Rules of Conduct for the Understanding Each Member of the Appellate Body is required to be a person of recognized authority, with demonstrated expertise in law, international trade and the subject-matter of the covered agreements generally. // showMeetingAgendaLink(news_ref, "WT/DS*"); 2019a), we explore how WTO Members regard the AB and the role it plays (should play) in resolving trade disputes. In conclusion, the United States stressed that its position is not based on the legal outcomes of the appeals, but instead on the approach chosen by the Appellate Body in each appeal on which this member served and whether that approach accords with the role that WTO members assigned to the Appellate Body, as reflected in the DSU. The Netherlands  and Click on the name of each current Appellate Body Member to obtain that News WTO judge blockage could prove 'the beginning of the end' The World Trade Organization is facing a major crisis as its appellate body loses its ability to rule on new dispute cases. The Committee also received in writing the views of 23 delegations. Although no other WTO Member supports the approach of the US in blocking new appointments to the AB as a means of addressing a perceived institutional imbalance, the survey responses reveal that the US is not alone in perceiving that the AB has gone beyond its mandate. He can be reached by appointment in B2.118. Case postale 1672 First, referring to the confidentiality of Appellate Body proceedings, Korea stated that an Appellate Body member should not be “singled out” for any criticism directed at the Appellate Body for its report. + 41 22 908 57 55. https://twitter.com/_CTEI/status/1250897920439844865?s=20 As a result of the Appellate Body (AB) at the World Trade Organization ceasing to exist, dispute settlement stopping at the panel level is the new norm. The proximate reason for alarm is the dwindling number of Appellate Body members, the result of the US blocking new appointments as the terms of sitting members expire. We continue to be concerned that the WTO Membership has not been able to launch the selection process for new Appellate Body members, with the result that the Appellate Body … 6200 MD Maastricht On 11 December 2019, there will be only one active AB member. To ensure consistency As of end October 2019, 88 WTO Members (counting the 28 EU member states as one) supported this proposal. //-->, MORE: In Brazil’s view, this would close the loophole for undue interference and pressure, and ensure an adequate working environment for Appellate Body members. The United States' full statement is available here. The WTO dispute settlement system is in crisis, endangering the future of the organisation. authority, with demonstrated expertise in law, international trade It has been left to other WTO Members to come up with reform proposals in the hope that they will be acceptable to the United States. The chair concluded that the profound issues that had been raised deserved further consideration. There is broad agreement that the two-stage process negotiated in the Uruguay Round is what is needed, and that an appeals body is desirable. Most WTO Members do not actively engage in dispute settlement or in deliberations on the AB. For reprint rights: How the next WTO chief will be chosen and the task ahead, Six candidates battle it out for WTO leadership, India appoints Brajendra Navnit as Ambassador to WTO, Arvind Panagariya cautions govt: Import licences will be a complete violation of WTO, US, European Union, others question India on using WTO peace clause, India asks WTO members to constructively engage for permanent solution to food stockholding. Minderbroedersberg 4-6 Just because the dispute settlement system would be blocked, it does not follow that the body of substantive WTO law would not remain legally binding. 2009 — 2013. Having requested the United States to reconsider its position, Korea expressed its disappointment with the statement made by the United States confirming its opposition. The Appellate Body is composed of seven Members who are appointed by the Dispute Settlement Body . Brazil, China, Chinese Taipei, the European Union, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iceland, Korea, Oman and Mexico added that there is no basis for attributing a decision by the Appellate Body to a single Appellate Body member. The breakdown of the dispute settlement system would not itself excuse performance. Appellate Body  Members have also been called upon to determine, through Acknowledging that Appellate Body members do not have a right to be reappointed, Korea nonetheless considered that any opposition to reappointments should only be for “compelling and legitimate” reasons. 1997 — 2001, 2011 The AB went into hibernation in December 2019, not having enough sitting members to be able to operate. A world without the WTO: what’s at stake? representative of the Membership of the WTO. However many other WTO members have opposed the move of the US and haven’t agreed with the U.S. about the functioning of the AB. What do WTO members think of the performance of WTO dispute settlement? 2013 — 2017, 1995 — 1997 Because rulings of first instance WTO panels cannot take effect while appeals are pending, panel rulings that are appealed will be stuck in a queue and remain unenforceable for an indefinite period of time. The European Union said it supports the reappointment of Mr Chang for another term, and hoped that this reappointment could still take place. Data on participation in trade conflict resolution and WTO deliberations on the AB suggest dispute settlement is a matter that is primarily of significant interest to the major trade powers, more open (“globalised”) economies and richer countries. responsible for the overall direction of Appellate Body business. The crisis usually is presented as the US against the world. be extended for an additional period of one year. Notwithstanding the high-profile nature of the AB dispute, a majority of WTO delegations did not respond to the survey, suggesting limited interest in – and potential concern about – the continued operation of the AB. YouTube, Seven months until Appellate Body apocalypse: time to prepare for the worst case, maintaining-trust-wto-adjudication-arbitration-‘safety-valve. 2005 — 2009, 1995 — 1999 According to Korea, were the United States to prevail, it would seriously undermine the independence and integrity of the Appellate Body as first-term Appellate Body members may have to reflect more on how their rulings would be viewed by major WTO members, rather than on the merits of the cases. This leaves open the real possibility of a complete breakdown of the WTO legal system. Hoekman, B and P C Mavroidis (2019) “Party like it’s 1995: necessary but not sufficient to resolve WTO Appellate Body crisis,” VoxEU.org, 26 August. Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore and Viet Nam noted that the United States’ opposition to reappointment could leave the Appellate Body without two members for the foreseeable future and thereby lead to delays. avoid conflicts of interest. Recent papers on reform are reviewed as well as eaerlier posts looking at the issues Japan said that any act by a WTO member of the nature and magnitude of the one taken by the United States "must be exercised with extreme caution". required to be unaffiliated with any government and are to be broadly In response to some delegations’ suggestion that the reappointment should be treated as though it were automatic in order to avoid interfering with the “independence” of the Appellate Body, the United States recalled that from the very first time an Appellate Body member was being considered for reappointment, WTO members have been clear that reappointment is not automatic. Guatemala noted that this was the first time a Selection Committee had not recommended a candidate on the grounds that it considered the candidate would not be accepted by WTO members. The European Union noted the link between this agenda item and the issue of the workload of the Appellate Body. Home  |  About WTO  |  News & events  |  Trade topics  |  WTO membership  |  Documents & resources  |  External relations, Contact us  |  Site map  |  A-Z  |  Search. [1]  See, for example, Bown (2019), Petersmann (2019), McDougal (2018) and Hoekman and Mavroidis (2019) for discussion of the claims and concerns expressed by the United States and possible responses by the WTO Membership. Until the appointment of new AB members is made, what can smaller countries do to protect themselves in a situation that increasingly resembles "gunboat diplomacy"? Could Article 60(2)(b) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties be invoked in case a WTO Member materially breaches its WTO obligations? As to the letter circulated by Appellate Body members on 18 May, in which the six colleagues of Mr Chang expressed their views on the issue and support and respect for him, the United States considered the Appellate Body’s action “unfortunate”, noting that any decision concerning appointment or reappointment of Appellate Body members must be made by the DSB and not the Appellate Body. Appellate Body Members. This summary has been prepared by the WTO Secretariat’s Information and It noted that his questions spent a considerable amount of time on issues that were not on appeal or that were not focused on the resolution of the matter between the parties. The WTOAB can uphold, modify or reverse the legal findings and conclusions of a panel, and Appellate Body Reports, once adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), must be accepted by the parties to the dispute. He has said the United States loses cases because other countries have most of the judges. For Brazil, it is not acceptable to object to the reappointment of a member to a second mandate on the grounds that certain legal decisions by certain individuals in a collegiate body are wrong or not satisfactory or because they do not correspond to a member’s specific interests or expectations. The European Union stated that “the damage” had already been done, and the events of the past days may taint any future re-appointment process. Dispute settlement under plurilateral agreements, dozens of which are being put in place, remains an alternative to WTO dispute settlement. For Switzerland, the rejection of reappointment challenged the Appellate Body as an institution and was detrimental to the rule of law. Fiorini, M, B Hoekman, P C Mavroidis, M Saluste and R Wolfe (2019b) “WTO Dispute Settlement and the Appellate Body Crisis: Detailed Survey Results”, Bertelsmann Stiftung working paper. Korea noted that, before the United States objected to Mr Chang’s reappointment, there was a “widely-held” view that he served the Appellate Body honourably during his term. At the end of 2019, the Appellate Body (AB) at the World Trade Organization ceased to exist as we know it, and it will remain inoperative until the appointment of new AB members is made, the timing of which is unclear. Manuel Tehankee, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the WTO, Katherine Connolly, Associate, Sidley Austin LLP. The Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTOAB) is a standing body of seven persons that hears appeals from reports issued by panels in disputes brought on by WTO members.