The WTO Dispute Settlement System 1995-2016: A Data Set and Its Descriptive Statistics

Abstract

The Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS), created in 1992 and directed by Professor Brigid Laffan, aims to develop inter-disciplinary and comparative research on the major issues facing the process of European integration, European societies and Europe's place in 21 st century global politics. The Centre is home to a large post-doctoral programme and hosts major research programmes, projects and data sets, in addition to a range of working groups and ad hoc initiatives. The research agenda is organised around a set of core themes and is continuously evolving, reflecting the changing agenda of European integration, the expanding membership of the European Union, developments in Europe's neighbourhood and the wider world.

WTO dispute settlement cases involving the agreement on agriculture, 1995–2019

“…trend is consistent with settlement trends found for all disputes (Johannesson and Mavroidis 2017; Paulwelyn and Zhang 2018). Once a consultation request is filed, it is increasingly unlikely that the parties will settle or abandon the case without going to a panel.…”

“…Only seven disputes involving the AoA have been filed since 2015 (table 1.2). This trend reflects, in part, the more general trends in WTO dispute filings-the first ten years under the WTO saw many dispute filings as members brought a number of outstanding disputes to the DSB that had been unresolved under the old GATT (Johannesson and Mavroidis 2017;Pauwelyn and Zhang 2018). As a percent of total initiated disputes, those involving the AoA have declined from about 17 percent of total disputes over 1995-2009…”

“…Since then, the average duration has increased, with the average reaching 185 days in 2005-2009. In their review of all WTO disputes between 1995 and 2016, Johannesson and Mavroidis (2017) found that the average length of consultation for all disputes was of similar length-about 180 days. For 1995-2019, the average duration for disputes involving the AoA was about 30 months.…”

“…Roughly 22 percent of agricultural disputes required more than 3 years to be resolved, including DS400 and DS401 (EC-Seal Products), disputes brought by Canada and Norway against EU market access provisions on seal products, which lasted a maximum of 54 months. In their analysis of the WTO dispute settlement system, Johannesson and Mavroidis (2017) report that the average time for the AB to consider an appeal is 3.3 months. Pauwelyn and Zhang (2018) point out that in recent years, while fewer cases have been brought before the DSB, proportionately more are going to the AB.…”

“…The World Trade Organization (WTO) has long been considered an effective institution because of its enforceable dispute resolution procedure. The WTO dispute settlement mechanism (DSM) has been described and widely accepted as the "crown jewel" of the multilateral trading system, which is unique in international relations since it is the only comprehensive compulsory third-party adjudication regime (Johannesson and Mavroidis 2017). According to Article XVI:4 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, all WTO members are bound by the obligation to adapt their legal systems to WTO law (WTO 2019a).…”