I've been posting about official WTO documents related to appeal/review in dispute settlement reform. The latest one, from the heads of delegation meeting on November 21, is now available. There were no exciting new revelations, but just for the sake of completeness, I'm providing excerpts below of the appeal/review sections:
2.1. Mr. Joel Richards (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), speaking on behalf of the Co-Convenors, made the following report:
"Our work has entered an even more intense phase, and this is discernible from the sheer number of meetings that we have had since October – six full-day plenary meetings, a workshop and many drafting group meetings. As always, we try to be very deliberate in trying to balance the need to deepen and intensify our work with the circumstances of capacity constrained delegations. In this regard, we must also commend experts for their collaborative and constructive engagement in the process. We are very pleased to confirm that we have made substantive progress on some sub-topics. Since our last meeting, the following elements have moved to drafting:
a. Under the sub-topic Scope of Review:
i. Limiting reviewable claims to those with material impact on implementation (MII) obligations – zero draft expected early next week and will first be discussed by plenary on 27 November.
ii. Clarifying adjudicators' roles in assessing panel facts under Article 11 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) – zero draft completed and will be first discussed at plenary on 25 and 27 November.
b. Under the sub-topic Reducing/Changing Incentives to Appeal:
i. Making changes to the existing interim review stage of the panel process such that it provides a more meaningful opportunity for the panel to correct factual or legal errors – zero draft completed and will be first discussed at plenary on 25 and 27 November.
c. Under the sub-topic Clarifying Members' Expectations of Adjudicators:
i. Clarifying Members' expectations with respect to adherence to timeframes – drafting group established and having its first meeting on 22 November.
ii. Clarify that adjudicators should focus on assessing the panel's interpretations, findings and conclusions based on the claims of error put forward by the Parties This element was moved to drafting during our plenary session on Tuesday, 19 November and we are in the process of establishing the drafting group.
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In terms of Access to the Mechanism, almost all Members consider automatic access to such a mechanism is essential to meet their interests. With respect to Form of the Mechanism, the majority of Members continue to support a standing body. This notwithstanding, we have been continuing a constructive exchange of views on interests and concerns, as well as exploring some interesting ideas based on the practices of some other international adjudicative bodies.
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Concerning Standard of Review, as stated already, we have moved to drafting an idea to clarify the standard of review applicable to adjudicators' review of a panel's objective assessment of the facts of the case. However, the majority of Members do not consider that having a higher or more limited standard of review for other legal issues would meet their interests. Nonetheless, in the spirit of the constructive and collaborative manner of our work, experts continue to discuss ideas so as to address the interests and concerns of all Members.