IS THE SEQUENCING ISSUE IN THE WTO FINALLY RESOLVED? A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE SEQUENCING ISSUE IN LIGHT OF THE US–TUNA II CASE

Özet

Back in 1999, during the implementation procedures that in theEC–Bananas III dispute, the Members of the recently established WorldTrade Organization (“WTO”) discovered a major procedural problemthat would last for almost 20 years: the sequencing issue. The problem isconnected to a controversial relationship between Articles 21 and 22 ofthe Dispute Settlement Understanding (“DSU”), as a result of an uncleardrafting of the proceedings leading to retaliation by the complainingMember against the respondent Member. Considering that retaliation isthe last and the strongest remedy available in WTO dispute settlement toinduce Members to comply with their WTO obligations, resolving thesequencing issue is of utmost importance to ensure predictability andsecurity in WTO disputes. Against this background, this paper analyzeswhat the WTO has done so far to deal with this problem and attempts toanswer the question: “is the sequencing issue finally resolved in the WTO”?