Discussion On The Application Of Judicial Precedent In The Legal System Of WTO

Since the World Trade Organization(hereinafter referred to as "WTO") dispute resolution mechanisms operated, there is no doubt that judicial precedent has become an integral part of the panel and Appellate Body report. In jurisprudence,it has no force in theories of International Law, but have the force of the de factor jurisprudence. This phenomenon has aroused wide attention of many scholars and members of the party, because they thought that the application of case law shows that there is a serious judicial activism tendency of dispute settlement mechanism in the dispute settlement process, which is a serious threat to the rights of the members of the party and the WTO itself.Based on this, making a accurate judgment of the nature WTO precedent cases have a kind of cognitive value,at the same time,researching the application of in the WTO system has great practical meaning..At first,this paper analyses how WTO jurisprudence cases formed and its institutional background.With the deepening and further development of international trade and global economic integration, trade disputes is more and more diverse. However, there are obscure and defects WTO norm, and that the legal system of WTO is not a "self-sufficiency" of the legal system; at the same time,in the WTO framework, the power distribution in uneven administrative、legislative and judicial;and in accordance with compulsory dispute settlement, the cases relates to gaps and ambiguous must also be ruled by dispute settlement mechanism.Thus,the Appellate Body jurisprudence establish into a canonical form frequently cited by Panel and Appellate Body and gradually.From three different angles that the non-trade concerns、 "Amicus Curiae" 、consistent rulings,this paper analysis the application of jurisprudence.although the application of cases deviate from the purpose of the WTO、departure from "contract model" of WTO、negative to the balance of power between the institutions;but also have explained WTO rules、repaired defects、improved procedural rules as a positive role.So application of cases alleviated the impact of the WTO negotiations on trade dispute settlement which is lagged.To the application of cases,not only should the international community stress the positive effect of the application of precedent cases,but also should realize that WTO rules should be improved to limit it,based on which advancing the judicial process of WTO step by step.