The Roots of the Crises in the WTO Appellate Body and Reform Proposals

Abstract

Since the WTO Appellate Body "suspension" crisis, how to reform the Appellate Body has become a hot topic among member states. Especially after the official "suspension" of the Appellate Body, member states have put forward proposals to reform the Appellate Body, but these proposals have failed to achieve substantive results, and the reform of the Appellate Body has been stalled. Therefore, analyzing and studying the reform of the WTO Appellate Body is conducive to promoting the reform of the Appellate Body, getting rid of the crisis of the Appellate Body, and also has positive significance to the reform of the WTO dispute settlement system. The three parts of this article are as follows: the first part studies the WTO Appellate Body's fundamental procedures and gives a general overview of the body to lay the theoretical foundation for the subsequent investigation of the WTO Appellate Body's issues; The second portion examines the legal ramifications of the WTO suspension conundrum. The more divisive practical matters, such as overtime hearings, confusing hearing scope, and the influence of Appellate Body decisions on precedent; The third section of the WTO Appellate Body Reform Suggestions includes suggestions from WTO members regarding current trends in the reform, academic theory surrounding the reform, Appellate Body cases, and reform of the practice of combining future reform of the WTO-specific measures.