Dispute Resolution in the WTO: Not a Piece of Cake

"In 2010, Ukraine, as a new member of the World Trade Organization, has for the first time in its history referred to the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism by claiming the WTO inconsistency of certain Armenian tax laws. The benefits and complexities of this process are still to be experienced by the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian business entities, but there is already some practice of dealing with a very specific international dispute settlement procedure. This legal vehicle is comparatively fast, equitable and effective, but not easy from the procedural standpoint. Generally, WTO dispute resolution goes through a number of stages with a detailed procedure and deadlines.

Hence, this article focuses on the role, main features and procedural aspects of consultations and the establishment of the Panel within the framework of the WTO dispute settlement in the view of a dispute recently initiated by Ukraine...it is worth noting that Ukraine used the procedure of unofficial consultations last year. The Ukrainian Government, following requests from domestic producers had initiated informal consultations with Georgia with regard to the discriminatory excise duty on imported tobacco products and successfully solved this problem and the discriminatory regime was withdrawn, which meant better market access for Ukrainian companies. After following several successful unofficial consultations the problem was resolved. This demonstrates that the mere possibility of WTO dispute settlement facilitates amicable bilateral dispute resolution. However, in the case of Armenia the situation became a bit more complex..."

Web-link: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=125106
Source: Mondaq
Language: English
Contact: Nataliya Y. Mykolska and Nataliya B. Haletska