Research To The World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement System

After the Second World War, on condition of the foundation of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund Organization, in order to enhance the process of world trade liberalization and to begin rectifying a great number of trade protections left over since the early 1930s, GATT came into being as a provisional trade organization intended for ITO. Shouldering the main duty of ITO, it provisionally lasted for 40 years. Not until 1994, did the member states sign the agreementand to set up WTO, for they thought that it was time to build up a unified and official international trade organization.In the period of both GATT and WTO, to settle the trade disputes between members is one of the main duties and also the key to maintain their own normal work and truly realize the essential principles and aims. Therefore, the dispute settlement system is called safety valve of GATT as well as of WTO. At present, WTO has got more than 100 member states , and its regulating scope involves commodity trade, service trade, intellectual properties protection and investment. Due to its large numbers of member states, widely-embodied fields, immense influence, it can be best called "the United Nation of economy and trade". Now, China has successfully jioned WTO, so it is of theoretical and practical significance to study WTO, especially its dispute settlement system.On the basis of the elder genertion's research fruits, this article analyzes the emergence,development and evolution taking time as threads and historic evolution of the system from GATT to WTO as angle. Basically, the article can be divided into the following parts:Part one reviews the GATT dispute settlement system briefly. As the safety valve of GATT, the GATT dispute settlement system has played a major role in relaxing disputes between the parties , pledging the implement of entity rules and realizing the aims of GATT. But because of the nature of GATT and historical limits, its dispute settlement system unavoidably had some limitations, which made its ability falling short of its wishes in resolving trade disputes between the parties.Part two minutely analyzes the WTO dispute settlement system. First it gives abrief introduction to the background of the system, then explains the contents of WTOdispute settlement system in detail, and last gives an objective appraisals on the WTO dispute settlement system.Part three analyzes the improvement that WTO dispute settlement system has made on the basis of GATT dispute settlement system, and points out that the system has developed more judicially, more efficiently by means of a few important amendments and complements. This is the objective demands of the existence and development of the system itself, as well as the necessity of world economy , globalization and unification.Part four points out the advantages and disadvantages that WTO dispute settlement system has brought to China and what China should do under such a circumstance.