Since its inception in 1995, more than 200 disputes have been raised under the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU). In spite of the obvious numerical success of the DS system of the WTO, in practice several shortcomings call for institutional and/or procedural change. This analysis deals with the economic aspects of the DS system. First, it turns out that the WTO DS system seems to be "biased". The larger and richer trading nations (USA, EU) are the main users of this system, either because of the larger involvement in world trade, or because the LDCs simply lack the legal resources. Second, in taking advantage of recent theoretical explanations of the WTO system in general (trade talks) and the DS system in particular (aberrations from WTO compliance can lead to trade wars) one can theoretically derive the relative robust result concerning the present practice of the WTO DS system: retaliation with tariffs is ineffective, distorts allocation and is difficult to control. This is also demonstrated in an CGE model analysis for the most popular disputes between the EU and the USA: the Hormones, the Bananas and the FSC cases. The major conclusion of our economic evaluation is that the DS system of retaliation should be changed towards a transfer-like retaliation system. (author's abstract) / Series: EI Working Papers / Europainstitut

This thesis the Reform of the WTO Dispute Settlement System, deals with urgent questions about the most important system resolution in international economic law. The WTO Dispute Settlement was established in 1995 and since then it has become a prime example of evolution in the field of international dispute resolution. The system itself has indeed its flaws and therefore its critics. Even its "founding fathers" indented to conduct a reform of the mechanism after few years in action. However, the reform has not yet materialised. The aim of the thesis is to discuss the state of negotiations over the reform of the system, in particular in context of power and rule orientation, and to analyze possible causes of the current state. The thesis is composed of six chapters. Chapter One offers brief characterization of the WTO Dispute Settlement and its main document Understanding on rules and procedures governing the settlement of disputes (DSU), which is found in Annex 2 of the WTO Agreement. Chapter Two chronologically follows the so far unsuccessful development of DSU Revision in WTO. In international trade disputes, two ways of their settlement are recognised: power-oriented and rule-oriented. Both methods are described in Chapter Three. The Chapter Four focuses on the institutional dimension of the...

Katarína Jakabová Abstract ABSTRACT Procedural aspects of the dispute settlement in international economic law The dispute settlement in the international economic law of nowadays takes place under more institutionalized mechanism as in the past half-century. The aim is clear: better enforceability of the law (of the award) based on the fast and efficient "under one roof" procedure. This thesis focuses on the procedural aspects of the dispute settlement within the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Each of these three organizations has its own special dispute settlement procedure, which is above all distinctive from the international trade law by having at least one (member) state as a party to a dispute. I have chosen WTO because it regulates the disputes on a state-state level arising from all the WTO agreements between all WTO members, which makes it the biggest (and very effective, let's admit) dispute settling platform worldwide. ICSID is the first and most popular mixed arbitration allowing a non-state party (an investor) to be a party to a dispute. And finally, NAFTA, even if it is on a substantial level complementing the WTO agreements, represents their competitive version on the...

The subject matter of this dissertation entitled "Dispute Settlement System in the World Trade Organization, developments and future prospects" is to examine dispute settlement system in the world trade, since the establishment of the World Trade Organization's predecessor - the GATT, until now. Besides the historical introduction into the area, the dissertation provides a comparison of these two consecutive systems and their main goals. Using available corresponding case law provided by panels and the Appellate Body, this dissertation covers the procedures and principles based on which the dispute settlement system currently stands. The secondary but not less important topic are the developing countries, their role in the system and inequality of the system related thereto. This inequality of the system lies mainly in the compliance issues. The dispute settlement system includes certain remedies in order to enforce the decisions and recommendations of the respective tribunals, but it is fair to say that they are not effective enough and tend to favour the developed countries. This dissertation also tries to find the solutions to the listed problems, mainly from the perspective of a proper compliance.

This study critically examines rulings of Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) tribunals. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement’s (NAFTA) Chapter 11, ISDS provides foreign investors with the tools to launch a claim against signatory countries should they feel their investment was inhibited by local regulations. Empirically this study draws upon Windstream Energy LLC. v. the Government of Canada as a case study to analyze the competing responses exchanged during the tribunal’s hearings. The claim by Windstream Energy LLC against the Government of Ontario (GoO) serves as both a central and relevant example for examining the ramifications of ISDS, as it is one of Canada’s most recent defeats featuring the largest award outside a pre-tribunal ISDS settlement. Information was drawn from tribunal documents, referred to as a Memorial and Counter Memorial, which outline each party’s argument and supporting claims. Additionally, the tribunal publishes their final decision and justifications. A critical discourse analysis method, theoretically informed by the corporate crime literature and Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, helps in critically examining the economic, political, and cultural assumptions that influenced the tribunal’s decision and the state’s approach to foreign investment. Overall, dominant voices reinforced neoliberal beliefs about transnational market expectations and the role of the state under a globalized capitalist system. Justifications rooted in market logics prioritized the accumulation of foreign capital over the potential dangers of Windstream’s project. Ultimately, it is the inclusion of corporate safeguards, like ISDS, in free trade pacts that help to (re)produce neoliberal capitalist ideals and further reinforce status-quo economic relations.

Submitted by Elesbão Santiago Neto (neto10uepb@cche.uepb.edu.br) on 2016-09-01T18:00:45Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Thiago Cavalcanti do Nascimento.pdf: 1298360 bytes, checksum: 3abeb0a667d1c98c98bf2d9954dea168 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-01T18:00:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Thiago Cavalcanti do Nascimento.pdf: 1298360 bytes, checksum: 3abeb0a667d1c98c98bf2d9954dea168 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-12-10 / Capes / This study aims to analyze the functioning of the dispute settlement Southern Common Market (Mercosur) mechanism from its commercial and political contradictions, and to evaluate its technical and institutional capacity to overcome these contradictions. The paper investigates the Mercosur dispute settlement system and its alternatives to litigation derived from the process of integration in the region, outlining the inconsistencies of the South American regionalism in the political and commercial aspects. The research uses the case study method and seeks to answer recent Mercosur problems. For this, it was held a documentary research on the reports delivered by the dispute settlement system of the referred bloc, and a reading on authors that investigated the role of institutions in the deepening of integration and cooperation among states. Finally, this paper shows the needs for breakdown with the intergovernmental model by which the bloc is conducted, and therefore, for opening spaces for permanent representatives of the productive sector and other stakeholders. It also suggests that efforts to reduce economic asymmetries are intensified. / O presente trabalho busca analisar o funcionamento do mecanismo de solução de controvérsias Mercado Comum do Sul (Mercosul) a partir de suas contradições comerciais e políticas, bem como avaliar sua capacidade técnica e institucional de superação destas contradições. O trabalho investiga o sistema de solução de controvérsias do Mercosul e suas alternativas para os contenciosos decorrentes do processo de integração na região, delineando as incongruências do regionalismo sul-americano nos aspectos político e comercial. A pesquisa faz uso do método estudo de caso e busca responder a problemas recentes do Mercosul. Para isto, foi realizada uma pesquisa documental sobre os laudos proferidos pelo sistema de solução de controvérsias do referido bloco e uma leitura de autores que investigaram o papel das instituições para o aprofundamento da integração e cooperação entre os Estados. Finalmente, o trabalho aponta as necessidades de ruptura com o modelo intergovernamental pelo qual o bloco é conduzido e, por conseguinte, de abertura de espaços permanentes para representantes do setor produtivo e de outros grupos de interesse. Além disso, sugere que os esforços para redução das assimetrias econômicas sejam intensificados.

A presente Tese de Doutorado tem como objetivo analisar os mecanismos de implementação das decisões do Sistema de Solução de Controvérsias da OMC, consideradas como decisões adjudicatórias internacionais, na busca pelo incremento de efetividade desse sistema, e com a finalidade de proposição de um modelo para tal implementação no sistema jurídico brasileiro. O estudo adota uma abordagem dialética entre a dimensão teórica e a dimensão empírica de seu objeto, na investigação acerca das condições nas quais o Sistema de Solução de Controvérsias gera seus efeitos nos membros da OMC, bem como dos sujeitos e processos envolvidos nessa dinâmica transnormativa. A partir da análise empírica dos casos nos quais o Brasil atuou como demandante, demandado e terceira parte no Sistema de Solução de Controvérsias da OMC, e do exame da implementação por parte de seus principais usuários, a pesquisa desenvolve constatações sobre a diversidade dos mecanismos de implementação e dos efeitos jurídicos das decisões desse sistema de resolução de litígios nos diferentes ordenamentos. O trabalho procura enfrentar as complexidades de seu objeto no contexto normativo-institucional brasileiro, avaliando o tratamento casuístico, difuso e informal conferido à temática da implementação das decisões do Sistema de Solução de Controvérsias da OMC no Brasil, e confirmando a hipótese da necessidade e conveniência do estabelecimento de um marco normativo geral que institucionalize e legitime a escolha relacionada ao meio de implementação dessa decisão. / This Thesis aims to analyze the mechanisms for implementing the decisions of WTOs Dispute Settlement System, considered as international adjudicatory decisions, in the search for increasing effectiveness of this system, and in order to propose a model for implementation in the Brazilian legal system. The study adopts a dialectical approach between the theoretical dimension and the empirical dimension of its object, in the investigation of the conditions in which the Dispute Settlement System generates its effects on members of the WTO, as well as the subjects and processes involved in this transnormative dynamic. From the empirical analysis of cases in which Brazil served as plaintiff, defendant and third party in the WTOs Dispute Settlement System, and the review of the implementation by their main users, this research reveals findings about the diversity of implementation mechanisms and of legal effects of the decisions of this dispute resolution system in various jurisdictions. The thesis seeks to address the complexities of its object in the brazilian legal-institutional context, evaluating the casuistic, diffuse and informal treatment given to the implementation of the decisions of the WTOs Dispute Settlement System decisions, and confirming the hypothesis of necessity and advisability of establishing a general normative framework that institutionalizes and legitimizes the choices related to the measures for implementing these decisions.

Diss. Uppsala : Univ., 2008.

One of the central purposes of the international law of the sea is to define various maritime zones, their extent and limits. One of these zones is the continental shelf. The continental shelf in modern international law has two aspects: The continental shelf within 200 nautical miles from the shore of coastal States and the continental shelf beyond that limit. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides that information on the limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles shall be submitted by the coastal State to a scientific and technical commission, namely the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The Commission is responsible for making recommendations to coastal States on matters related to the establishment of the outer limits of their continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles. If the limits of the shelf established by a coastal State are on the basis of the recommendations, they are final and binding. The establishment of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles has two main features: The establishment of the boundary line between the continental shelf and the international seabed area and the establishment of the boundary between the continental shelf of adjacent or opposite coastal States. Many questions concerning the relationship between these procedures have been left unanswered as well as the relationship between the Commission and international courts and tribunals. This thesis analyses the role of coastal States, the Commission and international courts and tribunals in the establishment of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles and the interplay between them. It explores how the various sources of international law have contributed to the establishment of the current legal framework. The thesis explores the differences between the delineation and delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. It demonstrates that the role of the Commission is to curtail extravagant claims to the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles and protect the territorial scope of the international seabed area. It also shows that the role of international courts and tribunals in this field is essentially the same as their role in other types of disputes. It explains that the establishment of the boundary line between the continental shelf and the international seabed area and the establishment of the boundary between the continental shelf of adjacent or opposite coastal States is a separate process. Furthermore, it clarifies that the three-stage boundary delimitation method is applicable beyond 200 nautical miles. It also displays that no special rule of customary international law has evolved that is solely applicable to delimitations regarding the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. The thesis addresses the interaction of the various mechanisms within the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea concerning the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. Its main conclusion is that despite the possibility for tension to arise the relationship between the institutions is clear and precise and they together form a coherent system where each separate institution plays its own part in a larger process.

Submitted by Elesbão Santiago Neto (neto10uepb@cche.uepb.edu.br) on 2018-04-10T17:58:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Thiago Cavalcanti do Nascimento.pdf: 24576051 bytes, checksum: 00ad972fd112c122abcca51db4a27a7a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-10T17:58:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Thiago Cavalcanti do Nascimento.pdf: 24576051 bytes, checksum: 00ad972fd112c122abcca51db4a27a7a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-12-10 / CAPES / This study aims to analyze the functioning of the dispute settlement Southern Common Market (Mercosur) mechanism from its commercial and political contradictions, and to evaluate its technical and institutional capacity to overcome these contradictions. The paper investigates the Mercosur dispute settlement system and its alternatives to litigation derived from the process of integration in the region, outlining the inconsistencies of the South American regionalism in the political and commercial aspects. The research uses the case study method and seeks to answer recent Mercosur problems. For this, it was held a documentary research on the reports delivered by the dispute settlement system of the referred bloc, and a reading on authors that investigated the role of institutions in the deepening of integration and cooperation among states. Finally, this paper shows the needs for breakdown with the intergovernmental model by which the bloc is conducted, and therefore, for opening spaces for permanent representatives of the productive sector and other stakeholders. It also suggests that efforts to reduce economic asymmetries are intensified. / O presente trabalho busca analisar o funcionamento do mecanismo de solução de controvérsias Mercado Comum do Sul (Mercosul) a partir de suas contradições comerciais e políticas, bem como avaliar sua capacidade técnica e institucional de superação destas contradições. O trabalho investiga o sistema de solução de controvérsias do Mercosul e suas alternativas para os contenciosos decorrentes do processo de integração na região, delineando as incongruências do regionalismo sul-americano nos aspectos político e comercial. A pesquisa faz uso do método estudo de caso e busca responder a problemas recentes do Mercosul. Para isto, foi realizada uma pesquisa documental sobre os laudos proferidos pelo sistema de solução de controvérsias do referido bloco e uma leitura de autores que investigaram o papel das instituições para o aprofundamento da integração e cooperação entre os Estados. Finalmente, o trabalho aponta as necessidades de ruptura com o modelo intergovernamental pelo qual o bloco é conduzido e, por conseguinte, de abertura de espaços permanentes para representantes do setor produtivo e de outros grupos de interesse. Além disso, sugere que os esforços para redução das assimetrias econômicas sejam intensificados.