Barriers to Panel Composition in RTA Dispute Settlement: Evaluating Solutions to a Perennial Problem

In the wake of the demise of the WTO's Appellate Body, there has been a growing trend of states resorting to the dispute settlement mechanisms under their regional trade agreements (RTAs) to resolve international trade disputes. While the vast majority of these mechanisms have never been used,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:World trade review 2023-05, Vol.22 (2), p.232-254
Main Author: Falls, Scott
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agreements
Bans
Dispute resolution (Law)
International law
International trade
Original Article
Settlements & damages
Tariffs
Third party
Trade agreements
Trade disputes
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
World Trade Organization
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Summary:In the wake of the demise of the WTO's Appellate Body, there has been a growing trend of states resorting to the dispute settlement mechanisms under their regional trade agreements (RTAs) to resolve international trade disputes. While the vast majority of these mechanisms have never been used, many contain defective procedural provisions that are likely to slow down or completely derail the dispute settlement process should those provisions be invoked. This is particularly true of mechanisms that effectively permit a respondent to block or delay the composition of a panel to hear a dispute. This article examines the issues of ‘panel blocking’ and panel composition delay tactics in RTA dispute settlement with reference to both past and present practice, and provides a textual analysis of a cross-section of existing RTAs to identify procedural defects and prescribe solutions for ensuring timely panel composition in future disputes.
ISSN:1474-7456
1475-3138
DOI:10.1017/S1474745622000398