Treaty Interpretation In The Wto Dispute Settlement

The dispute settlement mechanism (DSM) of the WTO is one of the most important outcomes of the Uruguay Round negotiations. It is regarded as a central element in providing security and predictability to the WTO multilateral trading system. The purpose of establishing the DSM of the WTO is to resolve disputes effectively. The process of WTO dispute settlement is materially the process of interpreting and clarifying relevant WTO rules and applying them to the facts of disputing cases. Therefore, the issue of the interpretation of the WTO agreements is undoubtedly a central issue of the DSM of the WTO. Accordingly, there is some theoretic significance and great realistic significance in this study.This dissertation applies the fundamental theory and international convention provisions regarding interpretation of treaties, introduces mainly the method of case-study, addresses the interpretation system of the WTO, examines the specific application of customary rules of interpretation of public international law in the WTO dispute settlement, analyzes the function of the judicial interpretation and existing problems, puts forward the proposals for supervising, and probes into the legal status of the judicial interpretation. This dissertation consists of four chapters and the conclusion.Chapter I expounds the fundamental theory on the interpretation of treaties, including the definition and classification of the interpretation of treaties, the main doctrines on the interpretation of treaties in international law academic, presents and comments on the relevant provisions regarding the interpretation of treaties of Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties(1969), analyzes the special significance of the issue of the treaties' interpretation in the WTO system, elucidates the system of the interpretation of the WTO agreements and analyzes the interrelation between the legislative interpretation and judicial interpretation.Chapter II elucidates the rules of interpretation which the judicial interpretation of the WTO shall follow, examines the specific application of customary rules of interpretation of public international law in the judicial interpretation of the WTO, and examines respectively the specific application of the interpretative elements, methods and principles including the term's ordinary meaning, context, subsequent agreements, subsequent practice, relevant rules ofinternational law, object and purpose, effective interpretation, good faith, the preparatory work of the treaties, the circumstances of its conclusion and the special rules for interpretation of treaties authenticated in two or more languages in the practice of the judicial interpretation of the WTO and makes relevant comments on these specific applications.Chapter III expounds the function of the judicial interpretation of the WTO in clarifying, developing and testing rules, especially the development in procedural and substantive aspects including the rules of the burden of proof, the complainant's standing to bring a case, private lawyer's participation in the dispute settlement, procedural rights of the third parties' participating in the dispute settlement, the principle of judicial economy, acceptance of non-requested information, a panel's discretion in making an assessment of the facts of the case. Furthermore, this chapter puts forward the specific problems of the warp in the interpretation of WTO rules and the general problem whether the judicial interpretation exceeds its proper extent, and then proposes that the judicial interpretation should be effectively supervised through the application of legislative interpretation and multilateral decision-making mechanism.Chapter IV introduces the common doctrine that there is not a de jure stare decisis in the DSM according to the text of the WTO, the viewpoint of Appellate Body and the allegation of some scholars, and then questions the reasons by which of the common doctrine excludes the system of stare decisis. This chapter continues to examine the practice of WTO adjudic...