In May 2023, over forty experts on the World Trade Organization (WTO) gathered from all over the world at the University of Ottawa to discuss the current state and future reform of the WTO dispute settlement system. The WTO dispute settlement system is currently in crisis. Its highest court, the Appellate Body (AB), has been non-functional since December 2019 because the United States has vetoed the appointment of new judges. The absence of the appeal stage also undermines\u202fdispute\u202fsettlement\u202fat the\u202fWTO’s first instance, the panels, whose reports can be appealed into the void and are left in limbo. As a result, Members\u2019\u202fWTO\u202fcommitments are left unenforceable. <\/p>\n\n
At the Geneva <\/span><\/span>Ministerial Declaration of June 2022<\/span><\/span><\/a>,\u202fWTO Members committed themselves to\u202fwork\u202ftowards re-establishing a “fully and well-functioning\u202fdispute settlement\u202fsystem” that is “accessible\u202fto\u202fall Members” by 2024.\u202fYet, solutions to the crisis remain elusive.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n The Ottawa\u202fsymposium sought\u202fto\u202fsupport the efforts of reform by identifying innovative approaches\u202fto\u202frevitalize the\u202fWTO\u202fdispute\u202fsettlement\u202fsystem. The participants included academics, practitioners, diplomates as well as former trade negotiators, panellists, Appellate Body members and WTO officials. With their diverse disciplinary and professional backgrounds, they brought together unique perspectives on potential reform of the WTO dispute settlement system.<\/p>\n\n The Conference Organizational Team consisted of\u202f <\/p>\n\n The conference was held at the University of Ottawa. As Kristen Boon<\/a>, Susan Perry Dellelce Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, highlighted, the conference forms part of the University of Ottawa\u2019s efforts to bridge the gap between academia and practice and to mobilize intellectual efforts that shape public policy making.The Conference was financially supported by the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law<\/a>, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada<\/a> (SSHRC), the Hyman Soloway Chair on Business and Trade Law<\/a>, the CN-Paul M. Tellier Chair on Business and Public Policy<\/a>, Bennett Jones<\/a>, the Canadian Council on International Law<\/a> and the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n The deliberations focused on three main questions: <\/p>\n\n\n