Extending the scope and strengthening the legitimacy of WTO dispute settlement and some personal recollections

When I went to the WTO Secretariat as Director of the Legal Affairs Division in September 2002, the WTO and its dispute settlement system were under heavy criticism in Washington, DC. Indeed, there was real concern among WTO proponents as to whether the WTO system could survive politically in the United States over the longer term. While the US Congress had rejected in 2000 by a comfortable margin a resolution for the United States to withdraw from the WTO, opponents of the WTO were continuing to lobby the Congress vigorously in preparation for another vote in 2005 on such a resolution (as provided for in US legislation implementing the Uruguay Round agreements creating the WTO). When I retired from the WTO Secretariat eight years later in 2010, opposition to the WTO in the United States had largely dissipated. One contributing factor, but certainly not the only factor, was the positive evolution of the WTO dispute settlement system with regard to its scope and legitimacy during that time. Below, I provide some thoughts on this along with some personal recollections about my tenure as WTO Legal Affairs Director.