<i>‘Thanks to The WTO Dispute Settlement System we now have a comprehensive account—a time capsule, if you will—of what that institution, with all of its warts, has accomplished. And we have a guidebook that scholars and policymakers can use to revive and improve it once the current storm passes.’</i>
- Journal of International Economic Law,
<i>‘Mavroidis' book provides a comprehensive account of the WTO records from various aspects.These empirical results and analyses present a full and realistic picture of how dispute resolution mechanisms in the WTO have been performing so far, which enables the reader to better discern real expectations of the WTO dispute resolution and properly assess the (in)effectiveness of each mechanism. This book is recommended to people working and studying international trade law. Academics, practitioners, and students who are interested in international investment arbitration, international/alternative dispute resolution, and empirical legal studies are also recommended to read this book as the research methodology used in this book is inspiring for research in many other areas.’</i>
- Yueming Yan, Asian Journal of WTO & International Health Law and Policy,
<i>‘This book, by a leading WTO legal scholar and the favourite co-author of many American and European trade economists, will be indispensable reading for researchers and practitioners of international trade.'</i>
- André Sapir, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium,
<i>‘Professor Mavroidis adds yet another masterly contribution to his series of WTO Law analyses. As previous books, it lays out the legal texts and case law in great detail, and perceptively discusses the economic rationale of the law. This book is incomparably richer than any other text on WTO dispute settlement.’</i>
- Henrik Horn, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, Sweden,
<i>‘In this masterful book, Petros Mavroidis blends an elegant combination of prose, data and law to explore just how the WTO dispute system worked, how it failed, and why it needs to be fixed.’</i>
- Chad Bown, Peterson Institute for International Economics, US,
By inquiring into the current set-up of WTO adjudication system, the book explores to what extent its original intent has been followed in practice. Its empirical analysis of decades of data regarding the number, duration, and subject matter of dispute adjudications, as well as the frequency of implemented or non-implemented settlements, illuminates the effectiveness of the system and highlights the issues that have led to the WTO’s present predicament. Petros C. Mavroidis employs these findings to build a case for the urgent reform of the WTO dispute settlement system by virtue of its accomplishments. He then concludes with a proposal for a reinvigorated “Dispute Settlement Understanding 2.0”.
The WTO Dispute Settlement System will prove an essential read for students and scholars of WTO law, as well as lawyers, political scientists and policy-oriented economists interested in the WTO dispute settlement system. Its accessible evaluation of the rationale and practice of key provisions of the adjudication regime will also be of benefit to practicing attorneys.