On 28 May 2019, departing Appellate Body member Peter Van den Bossche delivered his farewell speech to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. This is what he said:
[…] Second, to the extent that the concerns addressed in the reform proposals are legitimate, and some of them certainly are, these concerns can be addressed without undermining the essential features of the current system. The proposal made by Thailand on 25 April 2019 (WT/GC/W/769) shows the way forward in this regard. In an attempt to address the concerns raised by the United States, some other WTO members have made proposals that would significantly change essential features of the current system. It is, however, not clear to me, as I am sure it is not clear to most of you, whether any reform of the current system, short of its virtual elimination, will satisfy the United States. The United States has stated – most recently at the General Council meeting of 7 May 2019 – that the Appellate Body should follow the rules set out in the DSU. Nobody would disagree with that, but the United States has largely remained silent on what this actually means and has not engaged in the discussions on any of the reform proposals currently on the table. […]
I am afraid that – in spite of the most determined efforts of Ambassador Walker – efforts for which I would like to commend him, as well as the efforts of many WTO members – it is ever more likely that the current crisis will not be resolved by 11 December 2019. If this is indeed the case, the Appellate Body will no longer be able to hear and decide new appeals from that day onwards. As set out in Article 16.4 of the DSU, a panel report cannot be adopted by the DSB and become legally binding until after completion of the appeal. One can predict with confidence that, once the Appellate Body is paralyzed, the losing party will in most cases appeal the panel report and thus prevent it from becoming legally binding. Why would WTO members still engage in panel proceedings if panel reports are likely to remain unadopted and thus not legally binding? As from 11 December 2019, it is therefore not only appellate review but also the entire WTO dispute settlement system that will no longer be fully operational and may progressively shut down. Läs artikel