Practical Aspects of WTO Litigation

Practical Aspects of WTO Litigation is a complete, real-life account of World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) dispute settlement procedures. This book explains and identifies the practices that are normally followed by disputing parties when using the WTO’s dispute settlement understanding (DSU) entered into force in 1995. Since then, it has spawned an extensive body of jurisprudence, making it a highly complex system to navigate. This book is the first in-depth practical guide to resolving a dispute at the WTO, edited by an international lawyer, who has hands-on experience in WTO litigation. Contributors identify the best practices and suggest potential areas for improvement of the dispute settlement mechanism from their respective points of view.

What’s in this book:
Contributors explain, in a detailed manner, the numerous procedural steps and practices developed over the past twenty-five years, on: 

• preparing for WTO litigation;
• recognizing the importance of WTO consultations;
• presenting a case before a panel;
• panel requests and panel’s terms of reference;
• the role and assistance of the WTO Secretariat;
• the panel process;
• rules of evidence;
• confidentiality and transparency;
• additional working procedures for the treatment of confidential information;
• legal remedies to redeem a violation;
• general considerations for appeal;
• determining the reasonable period of time for compliance;
• sequencing;
• retaliation proceedings; and 
• use of non-WTO international law.

Contributors of individual chapters include government officials responsible for WTO dispute settlement from developing and developed countries, WTO Secretariat officials, a former member of the Appellate Body, academics specializing in international trade and related fields, and lawyers from major law firms specializing in WTO law.

How this will help you:
By confidently approaching cases and enhancing the understanding of the functioning of WTO dispute settlement mechanism with useful insights from experienced practitioners, this book constitutes an expert assessment of a cornerstone of the rules-based multilateral trading system and will prove to be of enormous value to all stakeholders in international trade. Lawyers and advisors working on WTO law and stakeholders from the private sector, civil society and academia, interested in WTO litigation, will find in one source a deeply informed description of existing dispute resolution practices clarifying the scope of many procedural rules.