A Research On Some Legal Issues Of WTO Decision-making Pattern

"Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization Agreement" Article IX,has obviously pointed out that WTO uses consensus and voting as its decision-making methods,and the power of decision-making belongs to all the WTO members.But in practice,voting has been totally abolished.Because of inefficient, consensus can not reach a new agreement as the members wishes.In order to promote the development of WTO,the Director-General of WTO and chairman of negotiations starts to invite some members to the Group Meeting.They expect that the so-called Informal decision-making pattern can finish a new agreement among the invited members.However,the informal decision-making of WTO exclude most WTO members from the Group Meeting,and it is very difficult to the uninvited members to understand the information of the Meeting.Informal decision-making undermines the integrity of the decision-making of WTO members,and results the power inequality in WTO decision-making between them.WTO decision-making has been accused of undemocratic, illegal.In order to study the legal issues of the WTO decision-making system, this article, from the perspective of the pattern of decision-making.discusses the legitimacy of WTO decision-making,the subject of decision procedure and whether or not the rights of members being equality.Finally come to the strategy of China to response the WTO decision-making.This article is divided into the following six parts:The abstract introduces the importance of learning WTO decision-making,and analyses the research status of WTO decision-making.The first part will introduce the WTO decision-making within the context and practice.This part considers the decision-making of WTO consist of two aspects:formal decision-making that means consensus and voting,and informal decision-making,which especially direct to the Green Room.Simultaneously,this section will comment the cause and appliance of these decision-making patterns.The second part will analysis the legal issue of WTO decision-making mentioned above,and sum up the legitimacy of WTO decision-making is mainly because of WTO informal decision-making that excludes the majority of the members out of the decision-making procedure, and to participate in the members of the WTO informal decision-making is not by WTO members were elected.The third part focus on the participation of the subjects of WTO decision-making,including WTO members,WTO Director-General and Secretariat,and makes the points that WTO should encourage the Non-governmental organizations and Coalition constituted by WTO members to participate the decision-making procedure.The fourth part will discuss whether or not the members of WTO share the equal decision-making right.Respectively, the author summarizes the power of decision-making from the aspects of procedure and substance and generalizes the conclusion that in the form, consensus decision-making can ensure equal decision-making power of WTO members,but on substantive issues,as same as the informal decision-making of WTO,can not guarantee the equal rights.The fifth part is divided into two area.On the one hand,it explains the way that China maintains her interests in WTO decision-making,for example participating WTO decision-making actively,joining different coalitions according to her own benefits,and recommending citizens to WTO agency.On the other hand,China,as a developing country of responsible great power,should provide technical assistance to developing countries to participate in WTO decision-making.