For those who will be in Brussels on January 23, there is an interesting seminar entitled, "Are developing countries deterred from using the WTO dispute settlement mechanism?" Here is a link with more info and here is a brief description:
The dispute settlement mechanism (DSM) is the backbone of the rules-based multilateral trading system. By providing a legal framework for solving disputes – rather than having them subjected to endless negotiations, fuzzy diplomacy and, potentially, big-power politics – the reformed DSM that emerged from the Uruguay Round has increased predictability in world trade and facilitated an order for fair dispute settlements open to every member. In fact, the dispute settlement mechanism has worked so well it was recently portrayed as ‘the only thing that works in the WTO today’.
But there is a fly in the ointment. The overall participation by developing countries has been disturbingly low. As shown in a recent paper by Roderick Abbott, many developing countries did not participate at all in the DSM in the years 1995-2005. Some observers has used this ‘absences from the game’ to criticise the whole WTO as a ‘rich-country product’ not in the interest of developing countries. Others, and more balanced observers, have pointed to a lack of resources as the explanation to this pattern.
"But is the low participation primarily a function of insufficient resources? What other and potentially more important factors can explain the ‘absence from the game’? ECIPE cordially invites you to a seminar on developing-country participation in dispute settlements (programme on the reverse side). At the seminar, Roderick Abbott will present his new research on dispute settlements in the WTO and discuss the reasons for the low participation by many developing countries. This presentation is followed by comments from key trade-policy officials in the EU, Mexico and the WTO.