The Interpretation Of Commitment Schedules In The Dispute Settlement Process Of WTO

The essay firstly in Chapter 1 points out the unilateral character of schedules by analyzing its negotiation and conclusion processes. Then it questions schedules' treaty status after it applies Article 2 of VCLT to schedules.The essay goes on in Chapter 2 to introduce the international customary rules of treaty interpretation, paving the way for the later analysis of the application of those rules to the interpretation of commitment schedules. In Subchapter 2, the essay discusses several typical WTO cases which involve the interpretation of commitment schedules, including US-Gambling Services, EC-Computer Equipment, etc, and analyzes the customary interpretation rules and other interpretation methods the DSU panel and appellate body applied to those cases, which covered the general interpretation rules under Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties (VCLT). In the process, the essay focuses on DSB's application of Article 31 and Article 32 of VCLT to interpreting commitment schedules, and the problems that have come up, some of which are the treaty status of commitment schedules, the conflict between schedule's unilateral nature and its being a component of WTO treaty, the influence of such conflict on schedules' interpretation and the application and interpretation of VCLT itself, especially Article 31 and Article 32. In the last section of Chapter 2, the essay also tries to explore the possibility of applying rules other than VCLT to schedules' interpretation.In Chapter 3, the essay lists what can be learned from those cases to improve the trade strategy of China respectively in drafting schedules and in dispute settlement, and proposes several ways to achieve so, based on the position and choice of DSB in those disputes' resolution.