The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) dispute settlement system is one of the most fundamental components of the multilateral trading system, with its dispute settlement understanding (DSU) celebrated as the major achievement of the last round of global trade negotiations.
The reach of the WTO’s substantive rules is long, its agreements cover virtually all trade in goods, services, agriculture and intellectual property. To ensure observation of the rights and obligations set out in those agreements, the WTO’s 144 members took the unprecedented decision to subject their laws to the mandatory jurisdiction of WTO panels and the Appellate Body.
