The utility of appellate review at the WTO and its optimal structure
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The impasse over the appointment of judges to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body shows no signs of abating, raising considerable doubt about the future of appellate review in WTO disputes. This paper examines the rationale for appellate review in the WTO, drawing on both the history of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the economic literature assessing the desirability of appellate review in judicial systems. It argues that the WTO does not present a compelling economic case for a two-stage judicial process. It further argues that if some form of appellate review is to be retained in the WTO, a discretionary ‘certiorari-like’ mechanism may be the best option.
DOI: 10.1093/jiel/jgae029
Author: Alan O Sykes
Language: English
Topic: World Trade Organization Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4402363496