Wto Dispute Settlement Mechanism

Based on the theories enshrined in Mao Zedong Thoughts on world politics and economics, and particularly by incorporating the important elements in Deng Xiaoping Theories on opening-up and economic development, this paper strives to make an in-depth analysis, by means of comparisons and case studies, of the dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the backdrop of an emerging world economic order, from both a political and legal perspective.While elaborating on the historical development, main content and operational practices of WTO, the paper makes at the same time a detailed study of the sub-legal nature of the organization as well as its significant impact on international law theories and practices,. Further, it conducts a detailed analysis of the policies and practices adopted by developed countries and under-developed countries in this respect. On the basis of the foregoing, the paper presents a useful discussion on how China should use this system and gives some focused recommendations relating thereto.The paper is composed of a preface, a postscript and nine chapters. Chapter One is dedicated to the research on the creation of the WTO dispute settlement system. Created after World War II as a response to the renewed international economic order, The General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT) managed to create a free, integrated and multi-lateral trading system worldwide. After more than 50 years of operation, the dispute settlement system of GATT has made considerable achievement and successfully settled many problems. To accommodate new challenges and changes in international political and economic order, however, a new WTO dispute settlement system was developed on the basis of the original GATT system after more than eight years of Uruguay Round of Negotiation.Chapter Two studies the content of the WTO dispute settlement system. The chapter elaborates on the basic procedures, legal basis as well as the legal justification of the system's inception. On the basis of such, the chapter concentrates on the three central concepts of panel, appellate and implementation system .Chapter Three focuses on the improvement of the WTO dispute settlement system, including its features, operational status, shortcoming and general directions for future improvement and development.Chapter Four investigates the principles of the WTO dispute settlement system. Having studied some basic principles of the system, the chapter primarily focuses on the principle of negative consensus , the principle of reasonable expectation and the principle of judicial temperance .Chapter Five studies the nature of the WTO dispute settlement system. Taking as its central theme the argument over whether the system should be foreign policy oriented or regulation oriented, the chapter elaborates on the judicatory and non-judicatory performances of the WTO dispute settlement system and draws the conclusion that the system is in nature a sub- judicatory dispute settlement system.Chapter Six concentrates on the significant impact of system upon the theories and practices of international law. By adopting a compared study approach, the chapter states that the system represents an important development of international law in three senses: (a) it puts into practice the basic idea that international dispute settlement should be "regulation oriented" instead of "strength oriented"; (b) it is an effective attempt to create a relatively independent judicial system within international organizations and (c) it manages to create a new vehicle for peaceful dispute settlement that integrates legal approach with diplomatic approach. In addition, the chapter goes on to explain the system's significant impact on the development of international law from the perspectives of the relationship between international law and domestic law, state sovereignty theory and legal integration process.Being the mainstay of the paper, chapter 4 to chapter 6 attempt to illustrate and explain , on the basis of the emerging international economic...