Originally from:
The WTO: Governance, Dispute Settlement & Developing Countries
The WTO: Governance, Dispute Settlement & Developing Countries-Digital
Chapter 33 - Preview Page
Panel Discussion: Lessons from Experience: Operation of the Panel Process and Appellate Review
Luiz O. Baptista, William Davey, Valerie Hughes, Mitsuo Matsushita, Andrew Stoler, John Weekes
PROFESSOR BAPTISTA: Good afternoon everyone. The panelists in this session are Professor Bill Davey, my dear friend Ms. Valerie Hughes, former Appellate Body member Professor Mitsuo Matsushita, Mr. Andrew Stoler, and Ambassador John Weekes. I will not tell you about their biographies because when you give a person’s biography, it sort of looks like a necrology, and I’m sure we don’t want to hear this about any of us. The first speaker is Professor Davey.
PROFESSOR DAVEY: Thank you very much. The discussions certainly have been fascinating so far and I suspect that this will continue to be the case.
The topic for this panel is “Lessons from Experience: Operation of the Panel Process and Appellate Review.” Overall, I would rate the operation of panels and the Appellate Body, and the DSU generally, as a success. A couple of years ago, I examined the cases that one might expect to have been completed by that time and found that, in cases that resulted in adopted panel reports and Appellate Body reports, there had been implementation in about 83% of those cases, and there were ten problem cases. Since that time two years ago, four of the ten cases have been implemented, albeit with some transitional problems in some of the cases, and two are actually still being contested in terms of whether or not implementation has occurred. So the record is fairly good there.
About the Authors:
Luiz O. Baptista has been a member of the WTO Appellate Body since 2001 and is Professor of International Trade Law at the University of Sao Paulo Law School.
William Davey is Edwin M. Adams Professor of Law at the University of Illinois College of Law.
Valerie Hughes is Assistant Deputy Minister Counsel, Law Branch, Finance for the Government of Canada.
Mitsuo Matsushita of Japan served at the WTO Appellate Body from 1995-2000.
Andrew Stoler the Executive Director of the Institute for International Business, Economics and Law and Adjunct Professor of International Trade at the University of Adelaide.
John Weekes Senior Policy Advisor at Sidley Austin LLP. From 1995 to 1999 he was Canada's Ambassador to the WTO, and in 1998 he served as Chair of the WTO General Counsil.