Steger: The Founding of the Appellate Body

Debra P. Steger (Univ. of Ottawa - Law) has posted The Founding of the Appellate Body. Here's the abstract:

The WTO Appellate Body has established itself as a leading international tribunal in the world today. However, Uruguay Round negotiators did not intend to create a court. There is no statute creating the Appellate Body, but only a sparse article in the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes. It is remarkable how international respect for the Appellate Body as a judicial body grew very quickly in its first few years. The founding Appellate Body members were critically aware that they had to establish the reputation of this new judicial body, it had to be earned by the quality of their decisions, their actions, their comportment, and the fairness of their procedures. This is the story, written by the first Director of the Appellate Body Secretariat, of the steps they and their Secretariat took, in the early years, to establish an international judicial body that would earn the trust and respect of WTO Members and the public globally. Independence and impartiality are the sine qua non for credibility, coherency, accountability and legitimacy of any judicial body. In order to protect the independence and impartiality of the Appellate Body in the future, reforms to the terms of appointment of Appellate Body members must be considered.