Can the WTO Dispute Settlement System Be Revived?

Abstract
The dispute settlement system of the WTO is, due to the paralysis of the WTO Appellate Body, in an existential crisis. This crisis is a major governance failure of the WTO. At the Ministerial Conference in June 2022, WTO Members committed themselves to address this failure. This paper deals with past and present efforts to restore the WTO dispute settlement system and examines, more generally, the options available to WTO Members to overcome the current crisis. It also discusses the MPIA, which may be in the coming years the best hope for rules-based, binding dispute resolution among WTO Members.

Author's Biography
Prof. Peter Van den Bossche