Protecting the WTO’s crown jewel: Appellate body reform proposals

It has been almost three years since I returned to Tsinghua University after serving more than eight years as a member at the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO). I miss the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, which has earned a reputation as the ‘crown jewel’ of the WTO system, as well as my former colleagues and friends at the Appellate Body. Since the decision-making process in dispute resolution evolved from a ‘consensus’ approach under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to a ‘negative consensus’ approach under the WTO, it has become almost automatic for panels to be established and reports to be adopted. In 1995, an independent Appellate Body was set up to hear and correct any legal errors, particularly in relation to legal interpretation and application, in the panel reports.

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