The Power of the Last: Towards de jure Stare Decisis in WTO Adjudication (Part Three of a Trilogy)

ID:	TARP-152
Title:	The Power of the Last: Towards de jure Stare Decisis in WTO Adjudication (Part Three of a Trilogy)
Source:	33 Geo. Wash. Int’l L. Rev. 873
Parties:
Dispute Resolution Organ:
Year:	2001
Pages:	0
Author(s):	Raj Bhala
Keywords:	adjudication, appellate body, constitutional legal theory, international trade, jurisprudence, law, legal history, stare decisis, transaction costs, transparency, WTO, national law, fairness
Abstract:	To “end the monstrous disconnect between myth and reality,” the de facto doctrine of stare decisis currently operating in WTO adjudication ought to be replaced with a de jure doctrine of stare decisis. (the WTO Agreement and DSU should be amended to include Appellate Body reports as a source of international trade law. WTO Members would NOT accept these reports serving as binding national law (as that would be far too radical an infringement on sovereignty for WTO Members to accept). Nonetheless, there exist compelling rationales in favor of adopting a de jure stare decisis regime at the WTO: “meeting party expectations; increasing certainty, transparency, harmonization, and fairness; reducing transactions costs; addressing the ‘Calabresi problem’ of statutory obsolescence; and perhaps most importantly, enhancing legitimacy.”
Secured:	False
Download Article:	Available here