Procedural aspects of WTO dispute settlement

Until recently, the dispute settlement system of the WTO Agreement has been highly successful in resolving disputes over countries’ compliance with WTO rules, despite the procedures being of a somewhat peculiar nature. This chapter suggests that the idiosyncrasies of WTO dispute settlement can be linked to a strong collective ethos within the WTO Agreement which regards the resolution of individual trade disputes as being of benefit to the entire WTO membership. Consequently, the general aim of the system is not to correct injury in a material sense but rather to cease the legal wrong going forward, with the possibility of legal transformation in the future. In many instances the system leaves open the option of parties negotiating a settlement along broad, flexible lines. Nevertheless, these options have been insufficient to address growing dissatisfaction with the system and its mandate. Rightly or wrongly, the WTO Agreement’s close association with the disruptive effects of globalization mean that the existing dispute settlement system cannot be taken for granted and changes to its procedures cannot be ruled out.