This book explores interactions between the new generation EU FTA and the WTO dispute settlement mechanisms, adopting an innovative, comprehensive approach. It investigates how the mechanisms potentially could and actually do compete, conflict, and cooperate, focusing not only on the potential negative consequences of fragmentation, but also on how synergies could be enhanced. Thus, unlike the existing literature, which chiefly focuses on conflicting interactions, it considers positive and negative interactions alike. Moreover, the book explores the topic in light of the most recent changes in and challenges to the international trade law regime. Particular attention is paid to how the multilateral and bilateral mechanisms studied interact with regard to the current WTO dispute settlement crisis and the EU-backed multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement. Thus, the book provides up-to-date answers to compelling questions. It also examines in detail the new generation EU FTA dispute settlement mechanisms, an aspect which has not been the subject of thorough research to date. The book pursues an interdisciplinary approach, combining legal methodology, international relations and political science theories with interviews. Given its scope, the book will appeal to researchers and scholars whose work involves international trade law issues. However, it will also be of interest to general international law academics, as it touches upon such issues as fragmentation, forum shopping, and general rules of interpretation. Furthermore, by analysing and presenting proposals with regard to the new generation EU FTAs, it will also be pertinent to the work of EU policymakers and researchers studying EU trade law.

This book explores interactions between the new generation EU FTA and the WTO dispute settlement mechanisms, adopting an innovative, comprehensive approach. It investigates how the mechanisms potentially could and actually do compete, conflict, and cooperate, focusing not only on the potential negative consequences of fragmentation, but also on how synergies could be enhanced. Thus, unlike the existing literature, which chiefly focuses on conflicting interactions, it considers positive and negative interactions alike. Moreover, the book explores the topic in light of the most recent changes in and challenges to the international trade law regime. Particular attention is paid to how the multilateral and bilateral mechanisms studied interact with regard to the current WTO dispute settlement crisis and the EU-backed multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement. Thus, the book provides up-to-date answers to compelling questions. It also examines in detail the new generation EU FTA dispute settlement mechanisms, an aspect which has not been the subject of thorough research to date.The book pursues an interdisciplinary approach, combining legal methodology, international relations and political science theories with interviews. Given its scope, the book will appeal to researchers and scholars whose work involves international trade law issues. However, it will also be of interest to general international law academics, as it touches upon such issues as fragmentation, forum shopping, and general rules of interpretation. Furthermore, by analysing and presenting proposals with regard to the new generation EU FTAs, it will also be pertinent to the work of EU policymakers and researchers studying EU trade law.

This book offers a multidisciplinary approach to the Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) by bringing together contributions from legal scholars and political scientists. Most of the authors belong to a tightly knit legal epistemic community, trained at the University of São Paulo and at the top-ranked research and policy centers on WTO law in Europe. Presenting a novel and unique perspective on the DSM, it provides an analysis of current themes at the heart of the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism through the lenses of scholars with a “developing country” perspective. Focusing on assessment, substance, and process, it presents a three-fold approach to the analysis and offers a singular contribution to the scholarly literature on the WTO. The book discusses the topic from the viewpoint of individuals deeply involved in the scholarly production as well as the daily operation of the mechanism. The contributors include academics in the fields of international economic law and political science, diplomats, individuals engaged in legal private practice, and individuals affiliated with the WTO as well as WTO-related think tanks. The result is a balanced perspective on pressing issues that have arisen and that are likely to remain at the center of the scholarly and policy debate for years to come.

This report consists of two main parts. The first Part is the report entitled 'Assessing the Development Friendliness of Dispute Settlement Mechanisms in the Economic Partnership Agreements'. The second part is composed of four different Appendices. These Appendices together form the 'Analytical and Comparative Guide to the Dispute Settlement Provisions in the EU's FTAs'. The four Appendices are as follows: * Appendix A: First Generation of Dispute Settlement clauses in the EU's RTAs * Appendix B: Comparison of the EU's and the ACP's Negotiation Positions on the Review of the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism * Appendix C: Timeline of Disputes under the WTO, the EU-Mexico and the EU-Chile FTAs, and the EU-CARIFORUM EPA * Appendix D: Analytical & Comparative Guide to Dispute Settlement Mechanisms in the WTO, the EU-Mexico FTA, the EU-Chile FTA and the EPAs The Report and the Guide (Appendices) are connected to each other; in that, the Report frequently refers to the tables provided in the Appendices therefore it should be read together with them. On the other hand, the Guide could also be used separately for detailed comparisons across several agreements and could serve negotiators by making it easier for them to draw on other agreement's relevant provisions.

The GATT and WTO dispute settlement systems have become the most frequently used international mechanisms for the settlement of trade disputes among governments. The 1994 Agreement Establishing the WTO introduced a historically unprecedented new dispute settlement procedure for conflicts involving trade in goods and services, trade-related investment measures, and intellectual property rights. This procedure provided for the compulsory jurisdiction of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, WTO Panels, and the WTO Appellate Body. The first 18 months from the time the WTO Agreement came into force on 1 January 1995 witnessed more than 50 invocations of the new dispute settlement procedures by a large number of countries, including many from the developing world. This large response, and the proposals for further extending the scope of WTO law, suggest that the WTO dispute settlement system will continue to be the most frequently applied, worldwide systems for the legal settlement of trade disputes among governments. This book provides students, lawyers and diplomats a thought-provoking and practice-oriented analysis of the GATT/WTO dispute settlement rules, procedures, and problems. The Annexes include a useful collection of relevant texts and tables of past GATT and WTO case law.

Two of the greatest achievements of the Uruguay Round were the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as – compared to the GATT – a fully-fledged international organization and the creation of a new, uniform and binding dispute settlement system. While the failure of the Ministerial Conferences in Seattle and Cancún revealed the first cracks in the institutional structure of the WTO, the operation of the new dispute settlement system has so far been a remarkable success. In a practical and authoritative article-by-article account, this volume covers the legislative history, interpretation and practical application of the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization, Articles XXII, XXIII, and XXIV GATT 1994, the Dispute Settlement Understanding, the Trade Review Policy Mechanism, the Understanding in Respect of Waivers of Obligations under the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXIV GATT 1994. Written by a team of distinguished scholars and practitioners, the volume is an indispensable work of reference for all those interested in the WTO institutional fundamentals and the dispute settlement system (international lawyers, scholars and students of WTO law, diplomats and international civil servants, members of NGOs).

This book analyses whether the recent reorientation of EU trade policy towards stronger enforcement and more robust representation of interests, resulting in a series of new or amended legislative tools, is in conformity with the EU's international commitments, particularly WTO, FTA, environmental, and general international law, and with its multilateralist stance and its underlying constitutional obligations. The analysis is also set against the consequences that would flow from that within the EU legal order, providing readers with a comprehensive view of the external and internal constraints on trade policy that the EU should respect, as well as the leeway it enjoys. In case of potential tensions, it submits changes that would better balance the EU's new ambitions and international obligations. Furthermore, the book looks beyond the possible legal repercussions to consider the broader political implications of these instruments on the credibility of the EU's commitment to multilateralism and international law.

This volume contains a collection of studies examining trade-related issues negotiated in regional trade agreements (RTAs) and how RTAs are related to the WTO's rules. While previous work has focused on subsets of RTAs, these studies are based on what is probably the largest dataset used to date, and highlight key issues that have been negotiated in all RTAs notified to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). New rules within RTAs are compared to rules agreed upon by WTO members. The extent of their divergences and the potential implications for parties to RTAs, as well as for WTO members that are not parties to RTAs, are examined. This volume makes an important contribution to the current debate on the role of the WTO in regulating international trade and how WTO rules relate to new rules being developed by RTAs.

This handbook offers a detailed explanation of the rules and procedures of the WTO dispute settlement system.