The role of lawyers in the WTO dispute settlement system

Before entering the subject matter a terminological specification is necessary. By ‘lawyers’ one can refer both to advocates and more generally to ‘jurists’. In this chapter I will refer to lawyers as advocates in their capacity as representatives of parties in proceedings before the WTO dispute settlement organs (the panels and the Appellate Body). I will also focus on their role as legal advisers to interested private parties; these are first of all enterprises de facto involved and directly affected by the outcome of these proceedings. Other private parties have also to be considered, such as Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) when they have an interest of a general nature in the result of a given case in the light of the interest they pursue.