Review of the Dispute Settlement Understanding

The Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) is one of the most significant achievements of the Uruguay Round negotiations. In the first ten years of the DSU, the WTO's adjudicative bodies have produced a significant body of jurisprudence involving both substantive and procedural issues.

At the same time as the WTO Agreements were adopted by the Ministerial Conference in Marrakesh, the Ministers took a Decision on the Review of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, which invited the Ministerial Conference to complete a full review of of the DSU within four years after the entry into force of the WTO Agreement. By January 1999, however, the review was not completed.

Discussions continued and the Doha Ministerial Declaration, which launched the Doha Development Agenda, included an agreement to "negotiations on improvements and clarifications of the Dispute Settlement Understanding." The Declaration recognized that "negotiations should be based on the work done thus far as well as any additional proposals by members." The text further mandated for an "early harvest". Negotiations should have been concluded by May 2003. When this deadline was missed, the negotiations were extended to May 2004. Again, no conclusion was reached, so the review continues.