Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons^™

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 …

Structure, Legitimacy And Nafta’S Investment Chapter, Charles Hendrickson Brower Ii

Law Faculty Research Publications

In this Article, Professor Brower examines the investment chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He argues that the relevant treaty provisions lack a substantial measure of textual clarity. In addition, he argues that ad hoc tribunals based on the commercial arbitration model have generated incoherent doctrine and are relatively less accountable, transparent, and accessible than permanent tribunals. Furthermore, he argues that the NAFTA Parties and their courts so far appear to place a higher priority on the pursuit of narrow self-interest than on the principled administration of international governance. Collectively, these circumstances help to explain the frequency …

Enforcement Of Wto Rulings: An Interest Group Analysis, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

The WTO's Dispute Settlement Understanding ("DSU") provides that disputes are to be resolved in adversarial proceedings before impartial panels of experts. These panels have authority to decide whether members' laws conform to WTO requirements; members may appeal rulings to a permanent Appellate Body within the organization, which has the final say on questions of law and legal interpretation. Under the DSU, if a member fails to comply with a final ruling in a dispute, the prevailing party may retaliate by suspending trade concessions that it owes the offending member. This retaliation can continue until the offending member implements the WTO's …

Sequencing, Acoustic Separation, And 3-D Negotiation Of Complex Barriers: Charlene Barshefsky And Ip Rights In China, Rebecca Green, James K. Sebenius

Faculty Publications

Taking the perspective of the lead U.S. negotiator, Charlene Barshefsky, this article details and analyzes the negotiations that took place in the mid-1990s between the United States and the People's Republic of China over intellectual property rights (IPR). Employing a "negotiation analytic" methodology, Charlene Barshefsky's actions are interpreted to suggest a number of promising approaches to managing the daunting complexities of trade and other negotiations: recognizing the multiparty aspects of apparently bilateral dealings and capturing them in a "deal diagram;" carefully assessing "barriers" to agreement; sequencing to build a winning coalition and overcome potentially blocking ones; "acoustic separation" of issueframes; …

Knowledge, Legitimacy, Efficiency And The Institutionalization Of Dispute Settlement Procedures At The World Trade Organization And The World Intellectual Property Organization, Michael P. Ryan

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

International legal research regarding international economic dispute settlement tends to be a-theoretical. A theoretically-grounded analytic framework is employed in this article which draws from scholarship from political science, sociology, and economics regarding institutions and international governmental organizations. The knowledge-legitimacy-efficiency analytic framework is applied in this article to studies of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GA TT)/World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement in order to relate this relevant scholarship to the economic field under primary study, Internet domain names. GA TT/WTO knowledge regarding international trade law has thickened through multi-lateral trade negotiations and dispute settlement decisions. The WTO's legitimacy is …

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 …

Investor-State Disputes Under Nafta: A Tale Of Fear And Equilibrium, Charles Hendrickson Brower Ii

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

A Trade/Human Rights Linkage By The United States: Is Enforcing Human Rights By Use Of Trade Sanctions Effective?, Blaise Omondi Odhiambo

LLM Theses and Essays

Universally held basic human rights must remain separate from political rights. Such basic human rights are those that are so universal that all societies, systems, nations, and ideology could, and do espouse them. Conversely, political rights are those that are dependent upon compatibility with the system of government in place and arc therefore far less likely to gamer universal support. An effective multilateral enforcement mechanism can only succeed if there are universal agreement and acceptance of the protected rights. Accordingly, at the outset of such a mechanism, only basic human rights may be enforced through trade sanctions. Once such a …

The Role Of Dispute Settlement In World Trade Law: Some Lessons From The Kodak-Fuji Dispute, John Linarelli

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

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

Articles

No abstract provided.

The World Trade Constitution, John O. Mcginnis, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

Conventional wisdom holds that the World Trade Organization (WTO) necessarily poses a threat to sovereignty and representative government within its member nations. Professors McGinnis and Movsesian refute this view. They argue that the WTO can be understood as a constitutive structure that, by reducing the power of protectionist interest groups, can simultaneously promote international trade and domestic democracy. Indeed, in promoting both free trade and accountable government, the WTO reflects many of the insights that inform our own Madisonian Constitution. Professors McGinnis and Movsesian reject recent proposals to grant the WTO regulatory authority, endorsing instead the WTO's limited adjudicative power …

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 …

The Annihilation Of Sea Turtles: Wto Intransigence And U.S. Equivocation, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

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.

Commercial Arbitration In The U.S.: The Arbitrability Of Disputes Arising From Statute-Based Claims, Sylvie Frankignoul

LLM Theses and Essays

A leading contemporary expert in arbitration has explained: "The concept of arbitrability determines the point at which the experience of contractual freedom ends and the public mission of adjudication begins. In effect, it establishes a dividing line between the transactional pursuit of private rights and courts' role as custodians and interpreters of the public interest." 1 A major part of the arbitrability doctrine deals with the kind of claims that can fall within the scope of agreements for private dispute resolution. Arbitration clauses are an integral part of the parties' transactions. Nevertheless, the American judiciary historically has refused to enforce …

Arbitral Situs: Considerations And Consequences, Rajdeep Singh

LLM Theses and Essays

It is the law of the forum that is applicable to matters like arbitrability of the dispute, the validity of the arbitration agreement, the jurisdiction of the arbitrators, their appointment, removal and replacement and the challenge to their authority. Apart from these matters the law of the arbitral situs also governs the conflict of laws rules applicable to the dispute. Though the principle of party autonomy allows the parties to agree to a procedural law other than that of the arbitral situs, they still have to comply with the mandatory provisions of the law of the venue. In case they …

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.

Sovereignty, Compliance, And The World Trade Organization: Lessons From The History Of Supreme Court Review, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

One of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO's) more remarkable and controversial innovations is its mechanism for resolving trade disputes among member states. Traditionally, states have resolved such disputes in "pragmatic" fashion, through negotiation and compromise informed by the relative power of the parties involved. But no longer: the WTO's Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (the DSU) provides that disputes between member states are to be resolved in adversary proceedings before impartial panels of experts." Under the DSU, panels have authority to decide whether members' laws violate international trade norms; panel decisions are essentially binding, though …

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 …

Sovereignty And Delegation Issues Regarding U.S. Commitment To The World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Process, Mari Presley

Florida State University Journal of Transnational Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

The Protection Of International Investment At The Start Of The Twenty-First Century: Will Anachronistic Notions Of Business Render Irrelevant The Oecd's Multilateral Agreement On Investment, 31 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1201 (1998), Michael P. Avramovich

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Interpretation Of The Remedial Provisions Of The Cisg, Evelina Wilhelmina Innocentia Visser

LLM Theses and Essays

The drafting process of the most successful international uniform law of the last decades, the 1980 United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG) reflected that in order to become a set of "well-balanced subsidiary rules," international uniform must be drafted and implemented carefully. It is essential that an international uniform law is adapted to diverse cultures. The different needs and demands of the varied socio-economic systems and legal structures, perceptions, procedures, and cultures of the distinct legal systems of this world are a main and omnipresent consideration and must be capable of absorbing the unified law. Either …

Should Unclos Or Gatt/Wto Decide Trade And Environment Disputes?, Lakshman D. Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Promise Of The United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea (Unclos): Justice In Trade And Environment Disputes, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Wto Legal System: Sources Of Law, David Palmeter, Petros C. Mavroidis

Faculty Scholarship

Modern discussions of the sources of international law usually begin with a reference to Article 38 (1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which provides:

The Court, whose function is to decide in accordance with international law such disputes as are submitted to it, shall apply:

1. international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states;
2. international custom as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;
3. the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;
4. subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly …

The Dispute Settlement Systems Of Wto And Nafta - Analysis And Comparison, Patrick Specht

LLM Theses and Essays

The aim of this thesis is to determine whether the dispute settlement institutions of the WTO and the NAFTA meet the standard, to compare the two systems, and to evaluate them. An issue that should be dealt with first is the question of comparability. Is it possible to compare the WTO and the NAFTA regarding their conflict resolution procedures? Or are they too different because one agreement works on the global level and the other on a regional one? Their institutions and their scope may differ, but they are still conducive to comparison because the underlying structure of these two …

Enforcement Of International Arbitral Awards, Davd Levon Shahzadeyan

LLM Theses and Essays

The primary objective of this thesis is to show the proposals that have been made in order to amend the New York Convention. This study tries to analyze the problems that the proposed modifications seek to eliminate. In general these proposals were aimed at amending the Convention in order to widen the scope of application of the Convention and to eliminate the difficulties with the enforcement of arbitral awards in national courts Chapter two of this study gives a historical overview of the multilateral enforcement conventions prior to the New York Convention and a brief drafting history of the New …

Investment Disputes And Jurisdiction Of The International Center For Settlement Of Investment Disputes (Icsid), Vakhid Yakubjanovitch Saparov

LLM Theses and Essays

This thesis will analyze one of the ways in which disputes arising from developed countries' investment activities in the developing countries are decided. The issues of investment and disputes are of great importance to the developed countries as well as to developing countries. The scope of the issues gives rise to a multitude of questions of national and international law in an interdependent world economy. International investment attracts the close attention of international law because it brings the movement of people and financial resources from one country to another and such movement gives rise to a potential risk for conflict …

Decisionmaking And Dispute Resolution In The Free Trade Area Of The Americas: An Essay In Trade Governance, Frank J. Garcia

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article examines certain theoretical and structural issues to be resolved in creation of the FTAA's governing institutions, and proposes an outline for these institutions, drawing upon regime theory's analysis of international organizations, the range of existing trade institutions found among the hemisphere's RTAs, and indications of the Summit countries' present goals and interests. The Article begins by summarizing Kenneth Abbott and Duncan Snidal's concept of "mesoinstitutions," a new regime theory tool for identifying the roles played and benefits conferred by 1Os in international relations. Parts I.B and I.C then apply mesoinstitutions theory to the primary governance mechanisms of the …

Expanding Judicial Review To Encourage Employers And Employees To Enter The Arbitration Arena, 30 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1099 (1997), Anthony J. Jacob

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.