Appeal and Judicial Review in International Arbitration and Adjudication: The Case of the WTO Appellate Review

This paper examines the appellate mechanism of the WTO dispute settlement system in the light of appeal, annulment and other forms of judicial reviews of arbitral awards existing in international law. The paper points out to the novelty of the appellate mechanism of the WTO in respect of the institutional structure of the Appellate Body, the subject matter of the review and the implementation mechanism. It also addresses the nature of the Appellate Body functions and concludes that it represents a form of judicial decision making.