Why did the United States promote the increased legalization of the international trade regime during the Uruguay Round (1986-1994)? The WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism is more legalized than its GATT predecessor in several key respects: Rulings are binding, additional authority is delegated to a standing Appellate Body, and the process is rationalized and clarified in important ways. While ...

One prominent explanation for disagreement in bargaining is that the parties have divergent and relatively optimistic expectations regarding the ultimate outcome if they fail to agree. The fact that settlement rates are much higher where final-offer arbitration is the dispute settlement procedure than where conventional arbitration is the dispute settlement procedure is used as the basis of a t...

The effect of courts arises through process and precedent. First, the process of selecting cases to escalate in the legal venue reveals information about the preferences of defendant and complainant. A third party arbitrator and multilateral membership adds international obligation and reputation as new leverage for compliance. Second, a formal dispute mechanism may have broader impact if the a...