Law Commons^™

Integrating Investment Treaty Conflict And Dispute Systems Design, Susan Franck

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

With the debate on the renewal of the Trade Promotion Authority Act, the proper terms of investment treaties - including dispute resolution provisions - have become an issue of public scrutiny. In a so-called litigation explosion, investors resolve disputes against host governments through international arbitration mechanisms in investment treaties; and there is little evidence of reliance on other processes like mediation. This escalation has lead to a teething period where parties and non-parties have expressed divergent views as to the efficacy, efficiency and fairness of the dispute resolution process. With billions of dollars and sovereignty at stake, the dispute resolution …

Icsid Institutional Reform: The Evolution Of Dispute Resolution And The Role Of Structural Safegaurds, Susan Franck

Susan D. Franck

No abstract provided.

The Lack Of Dissent In Wto Dispute Settlement: Is There A “Unanimity” Problem?, Meredith Kolsky Lewis

ExpressO

This article is the first piece of scholarship to analyze in detail the fact that there has been almost no dissent in World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement reports. The article first examines the empirical data with respect to dissenting and concurring opinions at both the panel and Appellate Body levels. Fewer than five percent of panel reports and two percent of Appellate Body reports contain separate opinions of any kind. It second shows that the WTO is in fact actively discouraging dissents, and discusses why this might be the case. The article argues that dissents are valuable in general, …

The Law In Action At The Wto, Spencer Weber Waller

ExpressO

This review of Gregory Shaffer's new book "Defending Interests: Private-Public Partnerships in WTO Litigation" argues that Shaffer has made an important contribution to the field of international economic law. Shaffer does this by using the insights of legal realism and strong empirical work to illustrate "the law in action" rather than "the law on the books" in terms of how international trade cases in the WTO are actually generated and resolved.

International Law Status Of Wto Dispute Settlement Reports: Obligation To Comply Or Option To "Buy Out"?, John H. Jackson

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In four further parts of this comment, I undertake to fulfill my "obligation" to present a more thorough analysis. In part II, I briefly introduce some of the different elements that would go into normal treaty interpretation related to the issue in question, such as which text should be part of the analysis and whether "preparatory work" or intent of the parties, including statements by some nation-state governmental officials made contemporaneously with the drafting of the treaty, should be considered. Likewise, I mention the importance of the forty seven years of GATT practice to the interpretive process, and I note …

The Case For Auctioning Countermeasures In The Wto, Kyle Bagwell, Petros C. Mavroidis, Robert W. Staiger

Faculty Scholarship

A major accomplishment of the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations in creating the World Trade Organization (WTO) was the introduction of new dispute settlement procedures. These procedures were intended to provide a significant step forward, relative to GATT, in the settling of trade disputes, in large part by ensuring that violations of WTO commitments would be met with swift retaliation ("suspension of concessions") by the affected trading partners. While the dispute settlement procedures of the WTO indeed represent a considerable improvement over those in GATT, nine years of experience under the new procedures suggests that significant problems of enforcement remain …

Perceptions About The Wto Trade Institutions, John H. Jackson

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article, based on a lecture given at the inauguration ceremony for the new Advisory Centre on WTO Law, describes the broader world trading landscape into which this new Centre emerges. Taking into account the possible implications of the events on September 11, this article provides a brief analysis of the current trade policy climate, asserting the necessity of institutions for the successful functioning of markets. After a short institutional history of the GATT/WTO, the author describes the importance of institutional rules, treaty text, and practice for the success of the WTO and presents the current debate over what the …

A Problem Of Process In Wto Jurisprudence: Identifying Disputed Issues In Panels And Consultations, Glenn R. Butterton

Articles

No abstract provided.

Remarks, John H. Jackson

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The limits of international trade must be understood within the context of the institutional framework of the WTO, in particular, the decision-making and dispute settlement processes. The WTO dispute settlement rules are contained in the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), which is Annex 2 to the WTO agreement. The DSU includes some comments on the philosophy, the direction and the purposes of the dispute settlement procedures. Article 3.2 of the DSU has some very interesting phrases. One of those phrases (roughly paraphrased) says, ''None of the reports of the dispute settlement procedure should result in a change, addition, or subtraction from …

Where's The Beef? Mad Cows And The Blight Of The Sps Agreement, Ryan D. Thomas

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note will first outline the SPS Agreement itself--specifically, Part II attempts to present the relevant articles in a manner providing the necessary background for understanding the WTO dispute panel and Appellate Body decisions. Next, Part III discuss and critique, the dispute panel and Appellate Body decisions, specifically, noting the shortcomings of these decisions in the context of the SPS Agreement and its utility as a precedent of international dispute resolution in the area of international regulation of drugs and feedstuffs. Next, I will addresses the likely effect of these decisions upon a possible WTO resolution of the SRM dispute …

An Examination Of The Developments In Chapter 19 Antidumping Decisions Under The North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta): The Implications And Suggestions For Reform For The Next Century Based On The Experience Of Nafta After The First Five Years, Kenneth J. Pippin

Michigan Journal of International Law

This paper describes the themes in the Chapter 19 antidumping panel decisions that have developed over the first five years of NAFTA. Part I provides a brief overview of the Chapter 19 panel process and the method of antidumping determinations for each NAFTA party. Part II presents statistics on the number and types of antidumping panel decisions made under the first five years of NAFTA. Finally, Part III explores the most significant themes in the antidumping Chapter 19 panel decisions and discusses their implications for reforming the Chapter 19 panel process.

Getting Along: The Evolution Of Dispute Resolution Regimes In International Trade Organizations, Andrea Kupfer Schneider

Michigan Journal of International Law

In the face of the remarkable growth of international organizations in the last fifty years, scholars in multiple disciplines have sought to explain why and how states cooperate. Dispute resolution is one of the most crucial components of international cooperation. Examining the dispute resolution regimes of international organizations in light of these theories can inform and help reform these evolving regimes.

China And The Gatt Agreement On Government Procurement, John Linarelli

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

International Trade Law And The Arbitration Of Administrative Law Matters: Farrel V. U.S. International Trade Commission, Ronald A. Brand

Articles

With support from the executive branch, Congress, and the courts, arbitration has become an increasingly popular method of international dispute resolution. While agreements to arbitrate traditionally were frowned upon, particularly when the dispute involved certain “public law” or “statutory” matters, the situation has changed dramatically in the past few decades. United States courts now routinely order arbitration of disputes implicating important policy issues in securities, antitrust, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”), and employment law matters. By the end of the 1980’s, the presence of a public or “statutory” issue seemed no longer to be a distinguishing factor; arbitration, when …

Jurisdiction And The Court Of International Trade: Remarks Of The Honorable Gregory W. Carman At The Conference On International Business Practice Presented By The Center For Dispute Resolution On February 27-28, 1992, Gregory W. Carman

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The United States and the other countries of the world will continue to develop rules and laws governing their relationships in international commercial matters as the years ensue. As part of that agenda, lawyers and members of the international trading community should be familiar with the dispute resolution provisions of the United States Court of International Trade and some of the procedural and substantive problems of the Court. The Court's function is to judicially review disputes under the customs and trade laws of the United States.

Enforcement Of Foreign Money-Judgments In The United States: In Search Of Uniformity And International Acceptance, Ronald A. Brand

Articles

When international trade and investment increase, so does the need for satisfactory means of dispute resolution. Dispute resolution in national courts requires that litigants consider not only the likelihood of a favorable judgment but also the ability to collect on that judgment. In cases where the defendant’s assets lie in another jurisdiction, collection is possible only if the second jurisdiction will recognize the first jurisdiction’s judgment.

In the international arena, enforcement of United State judgments overseas is often possible only if the United States court rendering the judgment would enforce a similar decision of the foreign enforcing court. This reciprocity …

Working It Out: A Japanese Alternative To Fighting It Out, David J. Przeracki

Cleveland State Law Review

Since the end of World War II, Japan has soared to the summit of importance in the world economy. In recent years, the balance of trade between the United States and Japan has been tipped strongly in favor of the Japanese. Since America's hegemony in international contracting is waning, especially with the Japanese, new approaches must be considered. The purpose of this Note, therefore, is to provide the reader with an understanding of the difference between Japanese and American legal consciousness. Because the Japanese approach yields an exceptionally low rate of litigation, a secondary goal of this Note is to …

"It Is Better To Enter A Tiger's Mouth Than A Court Of Law" Or Dispute Resolution Alternatives In U.S.-China Trade, Steven N. Robinson, George R.A. Doumar

Penn State International Law Review

This article examines the influence Chinese attitudes toward law have upon the various methods of dispute resolution in United States-China trade. It concludes that, although reasonably effective mechanisms for the resolution of disputes are available, the primary emphasis of counsel should be to prevent the dispute from occurring through promoting informed negotiation of the original contract.