Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T14:20:14.002Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Who Gets to Be In the Room? Manipulating Participation in WTO Disputes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2014

Get access

Abstract

Third parties complicate World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement by adding voices and issues to a dispute. However, complainants can limit third parties by filing cases under Article XXIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), rather than Article XXII. We argue that third parties create “insurance” by lowering the benefit of winning and the cost of losing a dispute. We construct a formal model in which third parties make settlement less likely. The weaker the complainant's case, the more likely the complainant is to promote third party participation and to settle. Article XXII cases are therefore more likely to settle, controlling for the realized number of third parties, and a complainant who files under Article XXIII is more likely to win a ruling and less likely to see that ruling appealed by the defendant. We provide empirical support using WTO disputes from 1995 to 2011.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The IO Foundation 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bagwell, Kyle, and Staiger, Robert W.. 2004. Multilateral Trade Negotiations, Bilateral Opportunism and the Rules of GATT/WTO. Journal of International Economics 63 (1):129.Google Scholar
Bechtel, Michael, and Sattler, Thomas. 2011. Trade and Litigate? The Effect of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body on Trade Relations. Unpublished manuscript, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Bhagwati, Jagdish, and Patrick, Hugh T.. 1990. Aggressive Unilateralism: America's 301 Trade Policy and the World Trading System. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhala, Raj. 1999. The Myth About Stare Decisis and International Trade Law (Part One of a Trilogy). American University International Law Review 14 (4):845956.Google Scholar
Bown, Chad P. 2004. Trade Policy Under the GATT/WTO: Empirical Evidence of the Equal Treatment Rule. Canadian Journal of Economics 37 (3):678720.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bown, Chad P. 2005. Participation in WTO Dispute Settlement: Complainants, Interested Parties, and Free Riders. World Bank Economic Review 19 (2):287310.Google Scholar
Bown, Chad P. 2009. Self-Enforcing Trade: Developing Countries and WTO Dispute Settlement. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Burley, Anne-Marie, and Mattli, Walter. 1993. Europe Before the Court: A Political Theory of Legal Integration. International Organization 47 (1):4176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Busch, Marc L., and Pelc, Krzysztof J.. 2009. Does the WTO Need a Permanent Body of Panelists? Journal of International Economic Law 12 (3):579–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Busch, Marc L., and Pelc, Krzysztof J.. 2010. The Politics of Judicial Economy at the World Trade Organization. International Organization 64 (2):257–79.Google Scholar
Busch, Marc L., and Reinhardt, Eric. 2000. Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: Early Settlement in GATT/WTO Disputes. Fordham International Law Journal 24 (1):158–72.Google Scholar
Busch, Marc L., and Reinhardt, Eric. 2006. Three's a Crowd: Third Parties and WTO Dispute Settlement. World Politics 58 (3):446–77.Google Scholar
Busch, Marc L., Reinhardt, Eric, and Shaffer, Gregory. 2009. Does Legal Capacity Matter? A Survey of WTO Members. World Trade Review 8 (4):559–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, An. 2003. The Three Big Rounds of US Unilateralism Versus WTO Multilateralism During the Last Decade: A Combined Analysis of the Great 1994 Sovereignty Debate, Section 301 Disputes (1998–2000), and Section 201 Disputes (2002–Present). Temple International and Comparative Law Journal 17 (2):409–66.Google Scholar
Davey, William J., and Porges, Amelia. 1998. Comments on Performance of the System I: Consultations and Deterrence. International Lawyer 32 (3):695707.Google Scholar
Downs, George W., Rocke, David M., and Barsoom, Peter N.. 1998. Managing the Evolution of Multilateralism. International Organization 52 (2):397419.Google Scholar
Fearon, James D. 1994. Domestic Political Audiences and the Escalation of International Disputes. American Political Science Review 88 (3):577–92.Google Scholar
Garrett, Geoffrey, Kelemen, R. Daniel, and Schulz, Heiner. 1998. The European Court of Justice, National Governments, and Legal Integration in the European Union. International Organization 52 (1):149–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilligan, Michael J. 2004. Is There a Broader-Deeper Trade-off in International Multilateral Agreements? International Organization 58 (3):459–84.Google Scholar
Gilligan, Michael J., and Johns, Leslie. 2012. Formal Models of International Institutions. Annual Review of Political Science 15:221–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilligan, Michael, Johns, Leslie, and Rosendorff, B. Peter. 2010. Strengthening International Courts and the Early Settlement of Disputes. Journal of Conflict Resolution 54 (1):538.Google Scholar
Goldstein, Judith, and Martin, Lisa L.. 2000. Legalization, Trade Liberalization, and Domestic Politics: A Cautionary Note. International Organization 54 (3):603–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gowa, Joanne, and Kim, Soo Yeon. 2005. An Exclusive Country Club: The Effects of the GATT on Trade, 1950–94. World Politics 57 (4):453–78.Google Scholar
Horn, Henrik, and Mavroidis, Petros C.. 2008. The WTO Dispute Settlement Data Set, 1995–2006. World Bank Data Archive. Available at <http://go.worldbank.org/X5EZPHXJY0>. Accessed 9 January 2014..+Accessed+9+January+2014.>Google Scholar
Jackson, John H. 2004. International Law Status of WTO Dispute Settlement Reports: Obligation to Comply or Option to “Buy Out”? American Journal of International Law 98 (1):109–25.Google Scholar
Jackson, John H., Hudec, Robert E., and Davis, Donald. 2000. The Role and Effectiveness of the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism. Brookings Trade Forum 2000:179236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johns, Leslie. 2007. A Servant of Two Masters: Communication and the Selection of International Bureaucrats. International Organization 61 (2):245–75.Google Scholar
Johns, Leslie. 2012. Courts as Coordinators: Endogenous Enforcement and Jurisdiction in International Adjudication. Journal of Conflict Resolution 56 (2):257–89.Google Scholar
Johns, Leslie, and Rosendorff, B. Peter. 2009. Dispute Settlement, Compliance and Domestic Politics. In Trade Disputes and the Dispute Settlement Understanding of the WTO: An Interdisciplinary Assessment, edited by Hartigan, James C., 139–63. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahler, Miles. 1992. Multilateralism with Small and Large Numbers. International Organization 46 (3):681708.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keohane, Robert, and Nye, Joseph S.. 2001. Between Centralization and Fragmentation: The Club Model of Multilateral Cooperation and Problems of Democratic Legitimacy. Working Paper 01-004. Cambridge, MA: Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.Google Scholar
Kucik, Jeffrey, and Pelc, Krzysztof J.. 2013. Measuring the Cost of Privacy: A Look at the Distributional Effects of Private Bargaining. Unpublished manuscript, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.Google Scholar
Lanye, Zhu. 2003. The Effects to the WTO Dispute Settlement Panel and Appellate Body Reports: Is the Dispute Settlement Body Resolving Specific Disputes Only or Making Precedent at the Same Time? Temple International and Comparative Law Journal 17 (1):221–36.Google Scholar
Lester, Simon. 2011. The Appellate Body and the Meaning of “Public Body.” International Economic Law and Policy Blog, 22 March. Available from <http://worldtradelaw.typepad.com/ielpblog/2011/03/appellate-body-and-public-body.html>. Accessed 22 March 2011..+Accessed+22+March+2011.>Google Scholar
Maggi, Giovanni, and Staiger, Robert W.. 2008. On the Role and Design of Dispute Settlement Procedures in International Trade Agreements. Working Paper 14067. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.Google Scholar
M'bow, A.M. 1978. The Practice of Consensus in International Organizations. International Social Science Journal 30 (4):893903.Google Scholar
Nakagawa, Junji. 2007. No More Negotiated Deals?: Settlement of Trade and Investment Disputes in East Asia. Journal of International Economic Law 10 (4):837–67.Google Scholar
Palmeter, David, and Mavroidis, Petros C.. 2004. Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization: Practice and Procedure. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pauwelyn, Joost. 2003. The Limits of Litigation: “Americanization” and Negotiation in the Settlement of WTO Disputes. Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution 19 (1):121–40.Google Scholar
Pelc, Krzysztof. 2010a. Constraining Coercion? Legitimacy and Its Role in US Trade Policy, 1975–2000. International Organization 64 (1):6596.Google Scholar
Pelc, Krzysztof. 2010b. Eluding Efficiency: Why Do We Not See More Efficient Breach at the WTO? World Trade Review 9 (4):629–42.Google Scholar
Pelc, Krzysztof. 2014. The Politics of Precedent in International Law: A Social Network Application. American Political Science Review 108 (3): forthcoming.Google Scholar
Pellizzoni, Luigi. 2001. Democracy and the Governance of Uncertainty: The Case of Agricultural Gene Technologies. Journal of Hazardous Materials 86 (1):205–22.Google Scholar
Porges, Amelia. 2003. Settling WTO Disputes: What Do Litigation Models Tell Us? Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution 19 (1):141–84.Google Scholar
Schultz, Kenneth A. 1998. Domestic Opposition and Signaling in International Crises. American Political Science Review 92 (4):829–44.Google Scholar
Smith, Alastair. 1998. International Crises and Domestic Politics. American Political Science Review 92 (3):623–38.Google Scholar
Steger, Debra P. 2008. Introduction to the Mini-Symposium on Transparency in the WTO. Journal of International Economic Law 11 (4):705–15.Google Scholar
Steinberg, Richard H. 2002. In the Shadow of Law or Power? Consensus-Based Bargaining and Outcomes in the GATT/WTO. International Organization 56 (2):339–74.Google Scholar
Third World Network, Oxfam International, Public Services International, WWF International, Center for International Environmental Law, Focus on the Global South, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Africa Trade Network, International Gender and Trade Network, and Tebtebba International Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Rights. 2003. Memorandum on the Need to Improve Internal Transparency and Participation in the WTO. Geneva: Third World Network.Google Scholar
Weiler, Todd. 2003. NAFTA Article 1105 and the Principles of International Economic Law. Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 42 (1):3586.Google Scholar
Welch, Susan, Gruhl, John, Comer, John, and Rigdon, Susan M.. 2006. American Government. Boston: Thomson Higher Education.Google Scholar
WTO Secretariat. 2004. A Handbook on the WTO Dispute Settlement System. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Johns and Pelc Supplementary Material

Appendix

Download Johns and Pelc Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 236.3 KB