Dispute Settlement Body

The Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO is a body composed of representatives of all Member States and is an important part of the WTO dispute settlement procedure ( Dispute Settlement Understanding ). If there between Member States regarding the dispute over the interpretation of a managed by the WTO trade agreement, then these parties can appeal to the Dispute Settlement Body. In cooperation with a dispute settlement panel ( Dispute Panel ) and the Standing Appellate Body, the Panel shall draw up an award to the prevailing party may, if necessary to enforce with coercive measures.

• 2.1 Legal interest
• 2.2 Representation by Lawyers
• 2.3 comments from third parties
• 2.4 Abstract judicial review
• 2.5 publicity of the proceedings

Method

Initiation of proceedings

A process is initiated by a Member State from another Member State shall require, to start negotiations on an alleged breach of contract.

Individuals or companies can not initiate proceedings. For this purpose, only Member States are entitled. It remains to individual companies but are at liberty to complain to their respective government or the government of another Member State and to require the initiation of a proceeding. In the EU, Regulation 3286/94, in the Commission's cooperation with industry is regulated at the initiation of proceedings for such cases.

Reaction of the other Member State

The other Member State has to respond within ten days and to commence within thirty days of serious negotiations with the aim to do the conflict amicably.

In the process until 2001, 28 percent of procedures were amicably settled at this stage.

Convening of a panel

If the conflict is not settled through negotiations within sixty days, the complaining Member State may bring about the establishment of a panel by unilateral declaration. This can only be rejected by a unanimous decision of all other Member States. This does not occur in practice.

In contrast, in the GATT era, the situation was reversed. The establishment of a panel could be prevented by the veto of a single member state and therefore not enforced against the opponents of a method.

Members of a panel are professors who deal with international trade law, or diplomats of Member States who are familiar with the matter, mostly there are, however, current or former government officials. To avoid conflicts of interest, members from countries are ordered that are not involved in the conflict.

Legal interpretations developed by the Panel

The panel has the task to interpret and determine whether a contract violation is present contracts. It uses the standards of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Then it must be the wording of the contracts; if this constitutes no clear result, it is possible to access to the drafting history of the negotiations.

Further, the principles apply ut res magis quam pereat Valeate and in dubio mitius. An interpretation under which a part of a contract is meaningless and superfluous is to be avoided. And in case of doubt it is assumed that the Member States have rights reserved and not released.

Remedy

A Member State which does not agree with a decision of a panel, on the other hand may bring the Appellate Body. This is referred to as the most powerful court in the world. It consists of seven members who are appointed for four-year terms.

Subsequent procedure

If a contract violation of a Member State, it was found that is required to correct the violation in question. If this is not done, the rights of that Member State shall be restricted from the Treaties. A process loss at the WTO may therefore result in the imposition of punitive tariffs.

In contrast, such a judgment either in the U.S., Japan or the EU has direct effect. Company or individual can not argue against the validity of rules of EU law as this was incompatible with WTO law by a panel ruling.

Individual questions

Legal interest

A legal interest is not required for the initiation of proceedings. A Member State may allege a breach of contract, even if he does not do so claiming to be affected in their own interests.

Representation by lawyers

Member States may in the process be represented by lawyers and are not limited, to perform the procedure through its own diplomats. This is especially important for developing countries that do not necessarily have enough of their own expert among their diplomats.

Comments from third parties

NGOs often have an interest in the outcome of proceedings. But you are not a party. Therefore, they can indeed submit to a panel -oriented briefs; but it is left to the discretion of the panel to decide whether it wishes to consider this.

Abstract judicial review

An abstract judicial review is allowed in this process.

Publicity of the proceedings

By 2005, all negotiations were not accessible to the public in the process. It was only in the process over hormones in beef (case DS 320, DS 321) for the first time a transmission via television signal in a separate room for listeners was realized in 2005.

Overview of the previous methods

In the first ten years of the WTO 325 procedures were performed. This is more than in the previous half century of the history of the GATT as a whole. Thus, Member States shall use this method significantly more often than before the establishment of the WTO. Especially the United States were involved in this period to 60 percent of the process and have launched 80 proceedings, so that the trade relations of the United States, the proceedings before the Dispute Settlement Body of considerable importance.

The focus of the method lies with over 30 in the application of GATT, followed by procedures for anti-dumping and subsidy law, each with over 25