Document Type
Working Paper
Publication Date
2019
Abstract
In December 2019 the WTO Appellate Body (AB) will cease to operate unless the United States stops blocking new appointments. The US argues the AB has exceeded its mandate and has indicated it wants to ensure that the AB performs the role originally assigned to it in 1995. This paper discusses the Uruguay round negotiating history with the view to establish what “going back to 1995” entails. It concludes that this should not be difficult assuming a willingness of the WTO membership to seriously consider the US concerns and acceptance by the US of a commitment by the membership to ensure that the AB operates consistently with its 1995 mandate.
Recommended Citation
Bernard Hoekman & Petros C. Mavroidis,
Burning Down the House? The Appellate Body in the Centre of the WTO Crisis,
European University Institute, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, Global Governance Programme Working Paper No. RSCAS 2019/56
(2019).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/2347