Dispute settlement body of the WTO: access to developing countries?

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the importance of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSU) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as mechanism for maintaining the multilateral trading system at the global level, in particular as regards access to the jurisdiction by member states. From the quantitative and qualitative analysis, the paper examines the performance of countries at different levels of development and seeks to demonstrate that existing asymmetries in the international trade rules and your reflexes to the OSC. Despite major advances in the creation of a permanent forum to address trade disputes between member states, it appears that developed countries and developing high-and middle-income countries are the biggest beneficiaries. Access to the jurisdiction of the WTO by the least developed countries is an improvement, but, paradoxically, also a denial of the full efficiency of the system, as will be seen ahead. The article also highlights the most active countries and agreements that are put in check before the OSC and the participation of Brazil as a global player in the logic of economic globalization. Finally, attempts to show why reform or revision of the system is essential for the OSC guarantees the right to the principle of special and differential treatment, especially to less developed nations, and promote greater equality between members, resolving conflicts in a more equitable manner.