WTO Dispute Settlement

A WTO Dispute Settlement Panel is an ad-hoc collection of three (or five, in some cases) experts who are assembled to adjudicate over a trade dispute involving at least two member nations of the World Trade Organization. The functions of the panels are to protect the rights of member nations while encouraging predictability and uniformity in the dispute resolution process.

The WTO dispute process begins with each party consulting with the newly constituted settlement panel. After consultations, each party is examined by the panel. The panel prepares its report and distributes it to the parties. The unsuccessful party is required to submit an implementation report to the panel and, if satisfactory remedies are not voluntarily implemented by the unsuccessful party, a retaliatory measure may be authorized by the Dispute Settlement Body.