Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures

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Introduction

Alternative adjudication under the DSU

This link takes you to a section in the WTO guide “Dispute Settlement System Training Module”.

Good Offices, Conciliation and Mediation

Under Article 5 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), good offices, conciliation and mediation are procedures that are undertaken voluntarily if the parties to the dispute so agree.

In disputes brought by developing country members against a developed country member in accordance with Article 3.12 of the DSU, the complainant can opt for using good offices, conciliation or mediation in the special conditions set out in the GATT Decision of 5 April 1966 (GATT BISD14S/18).

• See Report by the Director-General on the use of his good offices in the disputes European Communities — Regime for the Importation of Bananas (Colombia) (DS361) and European Communities — Regime for the Importation of Bananas (Panama) (DS364) (pursuant to Article 3.12 of the DSU).

Article 25 arbitration

Under Article 25 of the DSU, the parties to a dispute can resort to arbitration as an alternative or complement to adjudication by panels and the Appellate Body. The parties must jointly agree on resorting to arbitration. If they decide to do so, parties are free to depart from the standard procedures of the DSU and to agree on the rules and procedures they deem appropriate for the arbitration, including for the selection of the arbitrators.

Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA)

Based on the arbitration provision in Article 25 of the DSU, a group of WTO members are parties to the MPIA, an alternative appeal mechanism with a view to providing for review of panel reports in the absence of a functioning Appellate Body.

The MPIA was agreed upon among its original 18 participating members in April 2020. Currently the following WTO members are parties to the MPIA: Australia; Benin; Brazil; Canada; Chile; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; the European Union; Guatemala; Hong Kong, China; Iceland; Japan; Macao, China; Malaysia; Mexico; Montenegro; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Norway; Pakistan; Paraguay; Peru; the Philippines; Singapore; Switzerland; Ukraine; Viet Nam; the United Kingdom; and Uruguay.

Notifications from MPIA participants can be found here.

Article 25 arbitration awards

• MPIA arbitration awards
  • DS591
  • DS611
• Other Article 25 arbitration awards
  • DS160
  • DS583

Mutually Agreed Solutions

The DSU expresses a preference for the parties to settle their disputes through mutually agreed solutions (Article 3.7 of the DSU). If the matter has been formally raised in a request for consultations, the mutually agreed solutions must be notified to the DSB and the relevant Councils and Committees.

See below list of cases where a mutually agreed solution was notified.