Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Working Paper Series,
Research Institute of Industrial Economics

No 1148: The WTO Dispute Settlement System 1995-2015: A Data Set and its Descriptive Statistics

Louise Johannesson and Petros C. Mavroidis
Additional contact information
Louise Johannesson: Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Postal: Stockholm, and Örebro University, Sweden
Petros C. Mavroidis: Columbia Law School, Postal: New York, and University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Abstract: In this paper, we provide some descriptive statistics of the first twenty years of the WTO (World Trade Organization) dispute settlement. The database used in this paper was assembled by the authors and has been publicly available (http://globalgovernanceprogramme.eui.eu/wto-case-law-project/). The statistical information that we present here is divided into three thematic units: the statutory and de facto duration of each stage of the process, paying particular attention to the eventual conclusion of litigation; the identity and participation in the process of the various institutional players, that is, not only complainants and defendants, but also third parties, as well as the WTO judges (panelists and Appellate Body members); and, finally, information regarding the subject-matter of various disputes, regarding the frequency with which claims regarding consistency of measures with the covered agreements (but also, at a more disaggregate level, e.g., specific provisions) have been raised. We call our work “descriptive statistics”, because, in an effort to provide raw material that will help researchers to conduct their research as they see fit, we have consciously refrained from systematically interpreting the data that we have assembled.

Keywords: WTO; Dispute Settlement; Panel; Appellate Body

JEL-codes: K40

69 pages, January 10, 2017

Full text files

wp1148.pdf PDF-file 

Download statistics

Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Elisabeth Gustafsson ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().

This page generated on 2024-02-05 17:12:20.