Dictum on Dicta: Obiter Dicta in WTO disputes

This paper discusses an important legal issue raised by the United States in its recent attempt to block the reappointment of an Appellate Body member. According to the US, in some of his decisions, the member has made overreaching findings that amount to obiter dicta. As obiter dictum is a unique c...

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Main Author: GAO, Henry S.
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2018
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Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/2734
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/4692/viewcontent/Dictum_on_Dicta__Obiter_Dicta_in_WTO_disputes.pdf
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spelling sg-smu-ink.sol_research-46922020-07-03T09:09:31Z Dictum on Dicta: Obiter Dicta in WTO disputes GAO, Henry S. This paper discusses an important legal issue raised by the United States in its recent attempt to block the reappointment of an Appellate Body member. According to the US, in some of his decisions, the member has made overreaching findings that amount to obiter dicta. As obiter dictum is a unique concept in the Common Law system, the US argument may only stand if the concept may be found in the WTO legal system as well. With a careful analysis of the concept of dicta in Common Law and a close examination of the effects of past panel and Appellate Body decisions in WTO dispute settlement, the paper rejects the US argument by refuting each of the three premises of the US argument, i.e., the WTO legal system based on Common Law; WTO follows stare decisis; and the WTO has rules against dicta. In addition to original contributions on the nature of the WTO dispute settlement system in theory, the article also provides some practical advice on how the controversy may be resolved. 2018-07-01T07:00:00Z text application/pdf https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/2734 info:doi/10.1017/S1474745618000162 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/4692/viewcontent/Dictum_on_Dicta__Obiter_Dicta_in_WTO_disputes.pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University International Court of Justice international law World Trade Organization Dispute Resolution and Arbitration International Trade Law
institution Singapore Management University
building SMU Libraries
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider SMU Libraries
collection InK@SMU
language English
topic International Court of Justice
international law
World Trade Organization
Dispute Resolution and Arbitration
International Trade Law
spellingShingle International Court of Justice
international law
World Trade Organization
Dispute Resolution and Arbitration
International Trade Law
GAO, Henry S.
Dictum on Dicta: Obiter Dicta in WTO disputes
description This paper discusses an important legal issue raised by the United States in its recent attempt to block the reappointment of an Appellate Body member. According to the US, in some of his decisions, the member has made overreaching findings that amount to obiter dicta. As obiter dictum is a unique concept in the Common Law system, the US argument may only stand if the concept may be found in the WTO legal system as well. With a careful analysis of the concept of dicta in Common Law and a close examination of the effects of past panel and Appellate Body decisions in WTO dispute settlement, the paper rejects the US argument by refuting each of the three premises of the US argument, i.e., the WTO legal system based on Common Law; WTO follows stare decisis; and the WTO has rules against dicta. In addition to original contributions on the nature of the WTO dispute settlement system in theory, the article also provides some practical advice on how the controversy may be resolved.
format text
author GAO, Henry S.
author_facet GAO, Henry S.
author_sort GAO, Henry S.
title Dictum on Dicta: Obiter Dicta in WTO disputes
title_short Dictum on Dicta: Obiter Dicta in WTO disputes
title_full Dictum on Dicta: Obiter Dicta in WTO disputes
title_fullStr Dictum on Dicta: Obiter Dicta in WTO disputes
title_full_unstemmed Dictum on Dicta: Obiter Dicta in WTO disputes
title_sort dictum on dicta: obiter dicta in wto disputes
publisher Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
publishDate 2018
url https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/2734
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/4692/viewcontent/Dictum_on_Dicta__Obiter_Dicta_in_WTO_disputes.pdf
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