Confidentiality issues under the DSU: Fact-finding process versus confidentiality

The Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) is one of the fundamental achievements of the Uruguay Round. The new dispute settlement system has been sometimes called the ‘crown jewel’ of the WTO. Indeed, the DSU modified the world trading system significantly, by offering a system of binding dispute settlement based on legal rules and procedures. Such a transformation was a welcome change from the diplomatically based dispute system under the GATT 1947, which was textually weak and seriously flawed.