Good Faith And Its Application In The WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism

The WTO dispute settlement mechanism is a creative achievement in the history of international trade, and it provides an effective way to resolve trade disputes for WTO members. In the cases heard in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, the principle of good faith has been applied in an increasing number, so it is worth studying the principle of good faith in the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.The principle of good faith has been a general principle in international law, and its status also has been proved by the relevant treaties and cases. But there are many difficulties in the application of the principle of good faith, first of all, good faith is difficult to have a unified definition; secondly, in the existing cases the practice is different. This article focuses on the connotation and application of the principle of good faith. The text is of about28,000words, in addition to the introduction and conclusion, is divided into five parts.The first part introduces the principle of good faith in international law, and introduces the origin of the principle of good faith, and practice in a number of international treaties.The second part is aim to summarize the connotation of the principle of good faith in the WTO agreements, because it is the very premise to the application of good faith.The third part is going to discuss the constraints of good faith on the WTO dispute settlement members. Good faith is a subjective category, the regulation to the members is particularly important to study.The fourth part discusses the application of the principle of good faith in the WTO substantive treaties. The substantive law includes the WTO Agreement, international trade customs and the WTO precedent. The application of good faith to substantive law is mainly reflected in the interpretation of these sources of law.The fifth part discusses the principle of good faith in the WTO procedural law. The application of good faith is mainly in the application of the WTO Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, and this part is going to explore the influence of good faith in the DSU. The conclusion of this article discusses the influence that the principle of good faith has brought to China, and believes that China’s position in the international trade arena has become increasingly important, so it is very important to clear the application of good faith.