WTO Dispute Settlement Body: Judges

(asked on 7th January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure the necessary appointments of new judges are made to the World Trade Organisation Dispute Settlement Body in order to be able to enforce any rulings on international trade disputes.


Answered by
Earl of Courtown Portrait
Earl of Courtown
Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This question was answered on 14th January 2020

The UK is a strong supporter of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement system. The UK continues to support resolution of the impasse and the appointment of dispute settlement appeal-adjudicators. The UK has actively participated in discussions at the WTO since January 2019 aimed at relaunching such appointments, and the Rt Hon Conor Burns MP, Minister of State, was personally at the WTO, on the first working day of 2020, to affirm our support for the international rules-based system.

In December 2019, the Director-General of WTO announced that he would conduct more intensive consultations with WTO Members towards this goal. The UK will engage closely in these consultations.

The UK has engaged on this issue in other fora such as the World Economic Forum, G7, G20, Commonwealth, and OECD Ministerial Council meeting.

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