Abstract (eng)
Master Thesis described dispute settlement as a central pillar of the multilateral system. Without settling the dispute, the rule-based system would not be effective as rules cannot be enforced. A central objective of the WTO dispute settlement system is to provide security and predictability to the multilateral system. The first Chapter gives a general overview of Dispute Settlement System, its main characteristics, functions, objectives and key features of the WTO dispute Settlement System. Moreover, the Chapter exposes the primary WTO dispute settlement rules which set out in separate treaty ‘Understanding of Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement Disputes’, which emphasises that prompt dispute settlement is essential if the WTO is to function effectively and balance of right and obligations between all members is to be maintained. The WTO Dispute Settlement System is already described as the most important feature of the equally new World Trade Organisation (WTO). The DSU also defines the parties who are entitled to take part in dispute settlement process. The only participants in the dispute settlement system are the Member governments of the WTO, which can take part either as parties or as third parties. The second Chapter focus on the parties which involved in the dispute settlement process, such as The Dispute Settlement Body, Panels, Appellate Body and Arbitrators. This Chapter also describes step by step proceedings. Among the institutions involved in WTO dispute settlement, one can distinguish between political institutions, such as Dispute Settlement Body, and independent, judicial-type institutions, such as Panels and the standing Appellate Body. While the WTO has entrusted the adjudication of disputes, at the first instance to Panels, and at the appellate level to the Appellate Body, the DSB continues to play an active role in the WTO dispute Settlement system. Despite the plenty amount of writing on dispute settlement in the WTO, the little attention has been paid to the Dispute Settlement Body. DSB is a diplomatic body consisting of representatives of all WTO members, with responsibility, among other matters, for establishing panels, adopting panels and AB reports, and authorising the suspensions of concessions. The third Chapter analyse the crisis of the Appellate Body and gives an overview of proposals for WTO dispute settlement reform both from WTO Members and scholars. It reviews the operation of the WTO dispute settlement system to date and discusses several reforms and various ways to improve the effectiveness of remedies in cases of noncompliance with WTO decisions. What is more, the Covid-19 economic and trade crisis, which began in 2020 has hit the WTO at a time when the organization was certainly not in good condition. Respect for its rules has reached a low level, due to States’ increasing recourse to unilateral restrictive measures of dubious legality and bilateral agreements that disregard multilateral obligations.