Journal of International Economic Law Advance Access originally published online on May 11, 2007
Journal of International Economic Law 2007 10(2):397-403; doi:10.1093/jiel/jgm013
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© Oxford University Press 2007, all rights reserved
Compliance by WTO Members with Adverse WTO Dispute Settlement Rulings: The Record to Date
* Director, Legal Affairs Division, WTO Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland. Email: bruce.wilson{at}wto.org
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Abstract |
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The generally positive record of Members in complying with adverse rulings by panels, the Appellate Body or both has been an important factor in the success of the WTO dispute settlement system to date. In approximately 90 percent of the adopted reports, one or more violations of WTO obligations have been found by panels and/or the Appellate Body. In virtually all of these cases the WTO Member found to be in violation has indicated its intention to bring itself into compliance and the record indicates that in most cases has already done so. It is noticeable, if not unsurprising, that compliance has been more rapid where the WTO violations can be corrected through administrative action as opposed to legislative action. A closer review of the compliance record of the United States and the European Communities, which together have been the object of approximately half of all adverse WTO rulings, shows that these Members have generally succeeded in bringing themselves into compliance with such rulings, although both Members have experienced some residual compliance difficulties in a small number of cases. As a final note, the overall positive record of Members in complying with adverse WTO rulings is reflected in, and confirmed by, the low number of cases where Members have sought and received authorization to impose retaliatory measures.
The views expressed here are the personal views of the author and do not constitute in any way the official views of the WTO Secretariat nor of WTO Members. This note is based on a presentation by the author at a WTO Appellate Body Conference held at Columbia University in April 2006, which will be published in its original form in a forthcoming volume by Juris Publishers. The author would like to thank Michelle Grando for her assistance in preparing the final version of this note.