DISPUTE SETTLEMENT: APPELLATE BODY

Appellate Body

The Appellate Body was established in 1995 under Article 17 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU). It is a standing body of seven persons that hears appeals from reports issued by panels in disputes brought by WTO Members. The Appellate Body can uphold, modify or reverse the legal findings and conclusions of a panel, and Appellate Body Reports are adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) unless all members decide not to do so. The Appellate Body has its seat in Geneva, Switzerland.

Currently, the Appellate Body is unable to review appeals given its ongoing vacancies.  The term of the last sitting Appellate Body member expired on 30 November 2020.

Disclaimer
The pages on this web site regarding the Appellate Body and the Appellate Body Secretariat are intended solely for information. These pages do not constitute an authoritative interpretation of the WTO Agreements, including the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, or the Working Procedures for Appellate Review.

VIDEOS 
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Introduction 

Appeals in the WTO dispute settlement system
This link takes you to the section on disputes in the WTO guide “Understanding the WTO”.

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News 

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Appellate Body Reports 

The Reports of the Appellate Body for individual appeals.

Appellate Body Repertory of Reports and Awards 1995–2013

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Current Notified Appeals (1)

  • 26 January 2024:  Notification of Appeal by Türkiye in DS561: Turkey — Additional Duties on Certain Products from the United States (WT/DS561/9)
     
  • 8 December 2023:  Notification of Appeal by India in DS582: India — Tariff Treatment on Certain Goods in the Information and Communications Technology Sector (WT/DS582/16)
     
  • 18 September 2023:  Notification of Appeal by Dominican Republic in DS605: Dominican Republic — Anti-dumping Measures on Corrugated Steel Bars (WT/DS605/6)
     
  • 18 September 2023:  Notification of Appeal by China in DS558: China — Additional Duties on Certain Products from the United States (WT/DS558/8)
     
  • 17 May 2023:  Notification of Appeal by India in DS584: India — Tariff Treatment on Certain Goods (Japan) (WT/DS584/14)
     
  • 26 January 2023:  Notification of Appeal by the United States in DS597: United States — Origin Marking Requirement (Hong Kong, China) (WT/DS597/9)
     
  • 26 January 2023:  Notification of Appeal by the United States in DS564: United States — Certain Measures on Steel and Aluminium Products (Türkiye) (WT/DS564/21)
     
  • 26 January 2023:  Notification of Appeal by the United States in DS556: United States — Certain Measures on Steel and Aluminium Products (Switzerland) (WT/DS556/21)
     
  • 26 January 2023:  Notification of Appeal by the United States in DS552: United States — Certain Measures on Steel and Aluminium Products (Norway) (WT/DS552/16)
     
  • 26 January 2023:  Notification of Appeal by the United States in DS544: United States — Certain Measures on Steel and Aluminium Products (China) (WT/DS544/14)
     
  • 8 December 2022:  Notification of Appeal by Indonesia in DS592: Indonesia — Measures Relating to Raw Materials (WT/DS592/6)
     
  • 24 December 2021:  Notification of Appeal by India in DS581: India — Measures Concerning Sugar and Sugarcane (Guatemala) (WT/DS581/11)
     
  • 24 December 2021:  Notification of Appeal by India in DS580: India — Measures Concerning Sugar and Sugarcane (Australia) (WT/DS580/10)
     
  • 24 December 2021:  Notification of Appeal by India in DS579: India — Measures Concerning Sugar and Sugarcane (Brazil) (WT/DS579/10)
     
  • 16 September 2021:  Notification of Appeal by China in DS562: United States — Safeguard Measure on Imports of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products (WT/DS562/12)
     
  • 28 July 2021:  Notification of Appeal by Morocco in DS578: Morocco — Definitive Anti-Dumping Measures on School Exercise Books from Tunisia (WT/DS578/5)
     
  • 19 March 2021:  Notification of Appeal by the United States in DS539: United States — Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties on Certain Products and the Use of Facts Available (WT/DS539/9)
     
  • 22 February 2021:  Notification of Appeal by Pakistan in DS538: Pakistan — Anti-Dumping Measures on Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene Film from the United Arab Emirates (WT/DS538/5)
     
  • 22 January 2021:  Notification of Appeal by Korea in DS553: Korea — Sunset Review of Anti-Dumping Duties on Stainless Steel Bars (WT/DS553/6)
     
  • 17 December 2020:  Notification of Appeal by Indonesia in DS484: Indonesia — Measures Concerning the Importation of Chicken Meat and Chicken Products (Article 21.5 — Brazil) (WT/DS484/25)
     
  • 26 October 2020:  Notification of Appeal by United States in DS543: United States — Tariff Measures on Certain Goods from China (WT/DS543/10)
     
  • 28 September 2020: Notification of Appeal by United States in DS533: United States — Countervailing Measures on Softwood Lumber from Canada (WT/DS533/5)
     
  • 28 August 2020:  Notification of Appeal  by the European Union in  DS494: European Union — Cost Adjustment Methodologies and Certain Anti-Dumping Measures on Imports from Russia (Second Complaint) (WT/DS494/7)
     
  • 6 December 2019: Notification of Appeal by the European Union in DS316: EC and certain member States — Large Civil Aircraft (Article 21.5 — EU) (WT/DS316/43)
     
  • 9 September 2019: Notification of Appeal by Thailand in DS371: Thailand — Customs and Fiscal Measures on Cigarettes from the Philippines (Article 21.5 — Philippines II) (WT/DS371/30)
     
  • 4 June 2019: Notification of Appeal by Canada in DS534: United States — Anti-Dumping Measures Applying Differential Pricing Methodology to Softwood Lumber from Canada (WT/DS534/5)
     
  • 25 January 2019: Notification of Appeal by the United States in DS523: United States — Countervailing Duty Measures on Certain Pipe and Tube Products from Turkey (WT/DS523/5)
     
  • 9 January 2019: Notification of Appeal by Thailand in DS371: Thailand — Customs and Fiscal Measures on Cigarettes from the Philippines (Article 21.5 — Philippines) (WT/DS371/27)
     
  • 14 December 2018: Notification of Appeal by India in DS518: India — Certain Measures on Imports of Iron and Steel Products (WT/DS518/8)
     
  • 20 November 2018: Notification of Appeal by Panama in DS461: Colombia — Measures Relating to the Importation of Textiles, Apparel and Footwear (Article 21.5 — Colombia)(Article 21.5 — Panama) (WT/DS461/28)
     
  • 21 September 2018: Notification of Appeal by the European Union in DS476: European Union and its member States — Certain measures Relating to the Energy Sector (WT/DS476/6)
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Procedures for Appellate Review 

Appeals are conducted according to the procedures established under the DSU and the Working Procedures for Appellate Review.

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Appellate Body Members

Under Article 17 of the DSU, the Appellate Body is composed of seven Members who are appointed by the DSB to serve for four-year terms, with the possibility of being reappointed once. The criteria for appointing Appellate Body members is also set out under this provision. There are currently no Members on the Appellate Body;  the term of the last sitting member expired on 30 November 2020.

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Appellate Body Annual Report 

Annual reports on the work of the Appellate Body and its Secretariat have been issued since 2003.
Click here for more information

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Guidelines in Respect of Executive Summaries of Written Submissions

In a communication circulated by the Appellate Body on 11 March 2015, the Appellate Body set forth Guidelines in Respect of Executive Summaries of Written Submissions in Appellate Proceedings (WT/AB/23), setting out the prescribed format and length for the executive summaries that participants and third participants are to submit, together with their written submissions, in appellate proceedings, and clarifying that such summaries will be annexed, without modification, to the Appellate Body report in the dispute.

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Post Employment Guidelines

On 16 April 2014, the Appellate Body circulated Post Employment Guidelines that it has adopted for former Appellate Body Members, former Appellate Body Secretariat staff, and former interns at the Appellate Body Secretariat, and requested the cooperation of WTO Members in facilitating compliance with these guidelines.


Notes

  1. This refers to current cases in which notifications of appeal have been made. As indicated in the opening paragraphs, at the current time the Appellate Body is unable to review any of these notified appeals given the ongoing vacancies. Back to text

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