City Research Online

Abstract

This article advocates that the United Kingdom (UK) join the Multi-Party Interim Appeal (MPIA) arbitration mechanism, designed to create a route of appeal from decisions of lower panels arising from disputes under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. The MPIA was created in 2020 in response to the dissolution of the WTO’s Appellate Body (AB), itself the result of blockage by the United States (US) of the appointment of new appeal judges, allegedly due to a pattern of judicial activism (creating laws rather than merely interpreting them). The MPIA is an agreement among 53 WTO members comprising the world’s largest trading nations (other than the US and the UK). Under this new system, parties may appeal a decision of a WTO panel based on an error of law to a tribunal chosen from a roster of 10 expert arbitrators. This results in a legally binding decision, authorizing retaliation in the event of non-compliance as in the case of the original AB. The article argues that the MPIA system, which has already issued its first brief but reasoned judgment, offers a feasible solution to the AB crisis, helping establish predictable and legally coherent outcomes which should act as a basis for a more secure global trading environment. As the UK moves forward with an independent international trade policy during an era fraught with protectionism, reliance on rule of law as provided by an established, globally-recognized adjudicatory procedure has become more imperative than ever. The UK should therefore follow other leading trading nations and join the MPIA as soon as practicable.

Publication Type:	Report
Additional Information:	This report has been published by Adam Smith Institute: https://www.adamsmith.org/
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Departments:	The City Law School > Academic Programmes
Related URLs:	Publisher

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