ABSTRACT
So important is the dispute resolution mechanism introduced into the WTO that it merits special attention. Indeed, it is accepted by many that the adoption of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism was one of the signal achievements of the Uruguay Round, indeed, the centerpiece of the WTO. This is because, unlike many international organisations, the ‘WTO has a dispute settlement system, to which its members must submit, with the authority to issue binding legal judgments on issues of great political and economic significance’.1 With some euphoria, the first WTO Director General has described dispute resolution as ‘the WTO’s most individual contribution to the stability of the global economy because it helps the global community’s ability to resolve highly-charged disputes on the trade area’.2 To appreciate the import of this introduction, it may be useful to trace, albeit very briefly, the history behind the WTO.
