11. Where a Member other than the Advisory Members considers that it has a substantial commercial interest in consultations taking place in accordance with Article XXII(1) of GATT 1994, Article XXII(1) of the GATS or equivalent provisions of other covered agreements, (4) that Member may inform the Consulting Members and the Dispute Settlement Body thereof, within 10 days from the date of transmission of the Request for Consultation under this Article on its wish to participate in the consultations. That member shall participate in the consultations, provided that the member to whom the request for consultation has been addressed agrees that the allegation of significant interest is well founded. In that case, they shall inform the Dispute Settlement Body. If the request to participate in the consultations is not granted, the requesting Member is free to request consultations in accordance with Article XXII(1) or Article XXIII(1) of the GATT 1994, Article XXII(1) or Article XXIII(1) of the GATS or the corresponding provisions of other covered agreements. (2) While the Secretariat assists Members in resolving disputes at their request, it may also be necessary to provide additional legal advice and dispute settlement assistance to developing country Members. To this end, the Secretariat shall make available to each developing country, upon request, a qualified legal expert from the WTO Technical Cooperation Services. This expert shall assist the member of the developing country in order to ensure the continued impartiality of the Secretariat. (b) a mutually agreed period between the parties to the dispute within 45 days of the adoption of the recommendations and decisions; or, in the absence of such an agreement, (g) for the purposes of this paragraph, the agreement means: 1. Panels shall follow the working procedures set out in Appendix 3, unless the panel decides otherwise after consultation with the parties to the dispute. (c) notwithstanding the provisions of Article 21, the arbitration procedure provided for in Article 21(3) may, at the request of one of the parties, include the determination of the amount of benefits declared null and void or compromised and may also propose ways of achieving a mutually satisfactory adjustment; such proposals shall not be binding on the parties to the dispute; These approximate timelines for each step of a dispute resolution process are target numbers – the agreement is flexible.

In addition, countries can resolve their dispute themselves at any time. The sums are also approximate. 3. When establishing a panel, the dispute settlement body may authorize its chair to establish the terms of reference of the panel in consultation with the parties to the dispute, subject to paragraph 1. The mandate thus created shall be transmitted to all members. If an atypical work decree is adopted, each member may raise all relevant issues within the Dispute Settlement Body. The General Council meets as a Dispute Settlement Body (DPO) to settle disputes between WTO Members. At the Doha Ministerial Conference in 2001, WTO members agreed on negotiations to improve and clarify the DSU – the WTO`s dispute settlement rules and procedures.

(c) apply the procedures set out in Article 22 to determine the level of suspension of concessions or other obligations and to obtain the approval of the dispute settlement body in accordance with those procedures before suspending concessions or other obligations arising from the covered agreements if the Member concerned does not implement the recommendations and decisions within that reasonable period of time. First phase: Consultation (up to 60 days). Before the challenged countries take any further action, they need to talk to each other to see if they can settle their differences themselves. If this fails, they can also ask the WTO Director-General to mediate or otherwise provide assistance. 1. Panels have the following terms of reference, unless the parties to the dispute agree otherwise within 20 days of the establishment of the panel: The Dispute Settlement or Dispute Settlement System (DSS) is considered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to be a central pillar of the multilateral trading system and a “unique contribution of the Organization to the stability of the world economy.” [1] A dispute arises when a member country takes a trade policy measure or takes measures that one or more other Members consider to be a violation of the WTO Agreements or a breach of its obligations. In acceding to the WTO, Member States agreed that if they considered that other Members were in breach of trade rules, they would use the multilateral dispute settlement system instead of taking unilateral measures – which includes compliance with agreed procedures – the dispute settlement agreement – and respect for judgments, in particular the Dispute Settlement Council (DPO), the WTO body responsible for deciding disputes. [2] First, the complaining party requests formal consultations with the other WTO member country (or countries) involved in the dispute.

All such requests for formal consultations must be notified to the WTO`s Dispute Settlement Body (DPO), which is composed of representatives of all WTO Member States and manages the rules and procedures of the dispute settlement procedure. 1. Panels are composed of well-qualified governmental and/or non-governmental persons, including persons who have served on a panel or who have brought a case before a panel, who have represented a member or party to GATT 1947, or who have represented a covered agreement or an agreement that preceded it in the Council or committee; either in the Secretariat, informed or published on international trade law or international trade policy, or has served as a senior trade official of a Member. 1. The rules and procedures of this Agreement shall apply to disputes brought under the consultation and dispute settlement provisions of the agreements listed in Annex 1 (referred to in this Agreement as the covered agreements). The rules and procedures of this Agreement shall also apply to consultations and the settlement of disputes between Members concerning their rights and obligations under the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (referred to in this Agreement as the WTO Agreement) and this Agreement concluded in isolation or in connection with another covered Agreement. Formally, the committee assists the dispute resolution body in making decisions or recommendations. However, since the Panel report can only be rejected by consensus in the Dispute Settlement Body, its conclusions are difficult to overturn.

The results of the panel must be based on the agreements cited. 3. Where a request for consultation is made on the basis of a covered agreement, the Member to which the request is addressed shall, unless otherwise agreed, respond to the request within 10 days of its receipt and shall enter into consultations in good faith within a maximum period of 30 days from receipt of the request; with a view to a mutually satisfactory solution. If the Member does not respond within 10 days of receipt of the request, or does not enter into consultations within a maximum period of 30 days or such other mutually agreed period after the date of receipt of the request, the Member which has requested consultations may directly request the establishment of a panel. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Agreement establishes a set of rules and procedures and provides a forum for the settlement of trade disputes between WTO member countries. If disputes cannot be resolved, the agreement allows for the application of trade sanctions against the member country in violation of a WTO agreement. (b) Where, in cases relating to matters covered by this paragraph, a panel finds that cases also concern dispute settlement matters other than those covered by this paragraph, it shall transmit a report to the dispute settlement body dealing with those matters and a separate report on the matters covered by this paragraph. 3. The parties to the dispute shall have the right to participate fully in the consideration by the Dispute Settlement Body of the report of the Dispute Settlement Body and their views shall be duly recorded. Final report: A final report is presented to both parties and distributed to all WTO Members three weeks later.

If the Panel finds that the trade measure at issue violates a WTO agreement or obligation, it recommends that the measure be brought into conformity with WTO rules. The panel can suggest how this could be done. .