One of the most striking innovations in international law of the last decade is the creation of a standing appellate court at the World Trade Organization, "the Appellate Body". While there are other international tribunals with appellate chambers, the WTO Appellate Body stands out for its creation of a rich and controversial body of jurisprudence, crafted through the dozens of rulings it has made since 1996. In areas such as trade and environment, and trade and health, the Appellate Body has stepped into some of the most heated trade conflicts of the post-Seattle world. This book examines the WTO Appellate Body as the first full blown international law experiment with "routine" appellate review. Issues covered include the choice of interpretative method by the Appellate Body, its internal operations (for example the role of collegiality and the staff in the Appellate Body Secretariat), the Appellate Body's understanding of its own jurisdiction and mandate, and the argument put by critics that the Appellate Body has been engaging in inappropriate "judicial activism", especially in sensitive areas such as the review of domestic trade remedy (dumping, subsidies and safeguards) cases.

Table of Contents

crafted through the dozens of rulings it has made since 1996. In areas such as trade and environment

Author Biography

Robert Howse is Lloyd C. Nelson Professor of International Law at New York University and co-author with Michael Trebilcock of a standard treatise on WTO Law, "The Regulation of International Trade".