The publication, on 28 May in Geneva, of the 2018 Annual Report of the Appellate Body (AB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was a reminder of the key and increasingly complex role of this body.
During the presentation of the report, the Chairman of the Board, Ujal Singh Bhatia, highlighted the exponential workload of the AB due to the increasing sophistication of appeals at a time when its human capacities are increasingly limited. For almost 2 years, the Trump administration has vetoed the appointment of new judges, thereby reducing the number of judges still in office. During 2018, this number, normally set at seven, was further reduced from four to three members. This is the minimum required to consider an appeal; however, in December 2019, it will fall to two, effectively suspending the proceedings.
Despite this, the court initiated an appellate proceedings and issued nine reports on six issues. In addition, 12 panel reports on 11 cases were appealed in 2018.
Mr Bhatia pointed out that such an activity suggests that WTO members should consider the AB to be “a key pillar of a robust and effective dispute settlement mechanism”.
Endorsing the need for reform of the institution, Mr Bhatia also invited WTO members to “think carefully about the kind of system they want, what its role and reach should be, and what core principles should govern its operation”.
Judge Peter Van den Bossche, who is leaving the Appellate Body, called for a “coalition of willing WTO members” to establish a “new parallel dispute settlement system” if the ongoing discussions are stalled (see EUROPE 12264/16).
Returning, in his farewell speech on 28 May, to his experience at the AB, the Belgian judge also underlined the difficulty of finding the right balance between free trade and “contradictory” societal values as well as the right role of governments in the economy with regard to WTO law.
To read the report: https://bit.ly/2IjjYlH (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)