31 research outputs found
Article 4 DSU
No full textConsultations are an instrument for obtaining satisfactory adjustment of a disputed matter between the Members on a bilateral level (Art. 4.5), before further formalized action under the DSU is taken. “[ They] are a crucial and integral part of the DSU and are intended to facilitate a mutually satisfactory settlement of the dispute, consistent with Article 3.7 of the DSU”.2 From the perspective of the WTO dispute settlement system, consultations are a prerequisite to panel proceedings. Through consultations, parties exchange information, assess the strengths and weaknesses of their respective cases, narrow the scope of the differences between them, may reach a mutually agreed solution and provide the parties with an opportunity to define and delimit the scope of the dispute between them. Furthermore, as stated by the Appellate Body,
consultations not only “afford many benefits to complaining and responding parties” but also “to third parties and to the dispute settlement system as a whole”.
Consultations should not only be perceived as the first formal step in a legal procedure. They are also a diplomatic method of prevention or resolution.
The Comment on Article 4 of the DSU is devoted to the role of consultations and mutually agreed solutions in the WTO dispute settlement mechanis
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the WTO
No full textThe article analyzes the complex relationship between the legal regime of international human rights law, particularly under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the system of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the first part, the author addresses this issue from a normative perspective and seeks to answer whether the WTO is bound by the ICESCR and if the Covenant can be applied in WTO dispute settlement to justify violations of WTO law. In the second part the author empirically analyzes the extent of the use of human rights arguments in the debates of WTO bodies, using the documents of the WTO database. In the conclusions the author presents the results of his inquiry
Article 25 DSU - Arbitration
No full textArt. 25 of the DSU enables the parties to a dispute to have recourse to arbitration instead of employing the WTO dispute settlement system. The commentary is devoted to the presentation of the alternative means for settling WTO disputes is provision and its application in the MPIA (Multi-Party Interim Arbitration Arrangement
Personal Jurisdiction for Internet Torts: Towards an International Solution?
No full textAs an introduction to the issue of Internet tort jurisdiction, Part I will recount the Yahoo! case, the most divisive case on the issue recently. Parts II and III will give an overview of the current law on Internet tort jurisdiction in two different legal systems: the United States and Germany. They will show that several recent cases in both countries have applied targeting approaches as advocated by Michael Geist and Rufus Pichler. However, insecurity remains and jurisprudence is far from consistent. Part IV will argue that insecurity about Internet jurisdiction could be reduced significantly if countries were to commit themselves in an international convention to abide by a targeting approach along with guidelines for relevant criteria. Such an international law approach would limit the risk for website hosts of being dragged into court anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, an opportunity to pursue such a regime during the negotiations at the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters ( Judgements Project ) has been lost with the collapse of those negotiation
