After a long wait of some 15 years, China finally became a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in December 2001. This was a major milestone not only for China but also for the WTO, boosting the coverage and potential impact of the multilateral trading system. China can now fully participate in the WTO and help shape the rules on which the multilateral trading system is based. This deve...

Previous studies of WTO dispute settlement have sought to evaluate whether a Member’s legal capacity influences its odds of bringing litigation before the multilateral trade regime. Because direct measures of legal capacity are elusive, these studies have had to use indirect proxies, such as per capita income or number of delegates in Geneva. Yet, the reliability of these measures is questionab...

In the mid-1990s, the policy debate within the WTO focused on whether regional trade agreements (RTAs) were building blocks or stumbling blocks for the WTO system, essentially questioning whether regionalism was appropriate at all from an economic policy perspective. Given the proliferation of RTAs since that time and the inability to roll back the clock, that policy debate has been replaced by...

This article, based on a lecture given at the inauguration ceremony for the new Advisory Centre on WTO Law, describes the broader world trading landscape into which this new Centre emerges. Taking into account the possible implications of the events on September 11, this article provides a brief analysis of the current trade policy climate, asserting the necessity of institutions for the succes...

Reflections on the progress of the WTO over the last two decades highlights low developing country participation in its dispute settlement system as a fundamental failing of the multinational trading system. Recurrently, this low participation rate has been attributed to the cost of the WTO’s legalistic model in Panel and Appellate Body proceedings, creating a concern of bias. Yet, by focussing...