In August 2019 I presented a paper at the Annual Conference of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand on the future of arbitrating trade disputes. It was for a New Zealand audience which wasn’t very familiar with the WTO dispute settlement system. So it explored the background to the creation of the WTO dispute settlement system and the functioning and criticisms of the WTO Appellate Body. I took a New Zealand perspective in identifying the gains and deficiencies of the WTO dispute settlement system and looked at various potential pathways to resolving the current impasse.
One of these was what is now the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement. I said at the time that it remained to be seen whether other WTO Members would sign onto such an approach. Clearly WTO Members, including New Zealand, have done so. This is a strong indication of New Zealand’s commitment to the WTO dispute settlement system and its confidence that the system will continue to deliver benefits to WTO Members as it has in the past.
The full text of the paper is available at: Ridings, Penelope, Arbitrating International Trade Disputes: What Does the Future Hold? (August 3, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3611374