The effectiveness of the WTO dispute settlement system

![CDATA[The World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement system, established in 1995 by the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU)2, has proved to be robust and successful. Indeed the DSU, which applies to all matters reached during substantive WTO negotiation rounds unless specifically stated otherwise, gives the WTO more clout over its 149 Members than the largest global institution, the United Nations (UN) has over its 191 Members. This paper compares dispute settlement in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) with that of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of the UN,3 focusing on specific factors such as jurisdiction, standing, practice and procedure, third party accessibility, precedent, appeals and enforcement. Of course, there is no suggestion that both bodies serve the same role, or that they have overlapping jurisdiction. However it is open to argument that the degree to which states resort to a dispute mechanism is reflective of its perceived value and effectiveness.]]