Thursday, May 3, 2018

A new book entitled “Public Private Partnership for WTO Dispute Settlement: Enabling Developing Countries” was launched at Mexico’s Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo (ITAM), a member of the WTO Chairs Programme, on 3 May. The book is authored by the Co-Chair at ITAM, Dr Amrita Bahri.
Participants at the event included Prof. Gregory Shaffer (Chancellor’s Professor, University of California, Irvine), Prof. Henry Gao (Professor, Singapore Management University), Ambassador Fernando de Mateo (Director General, Evaluation of Economic Projects, Secretaría de Economía, Mexico), Lic. Diego de Mateo (Founding Partner, AGON Law Firm), Prof. Gabriel Gari (Professor, Queen Mary University of London), Prof. Jorge Cerdio (Dean, ITAM University Law Department) and Prof. Bradly Condon (Professor and WTO Chair, ITAM University).
The publication examines how interaction between business entities and public officials can enable developing countries to effectively utilize the provisions of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU). Building on more than five years of empirical investigation, the author reflects on the dispute settlement partnership experiences of the top DSU users from the developed and developing world.
The book evaluates a diverse range of dispute settlement partnership strategies which have allowed the governments involved to harness resources and expertise from the private sector. With practical suggestions on dispute settlement capacity building, the book provides a roadmap to policy makers, industry representatives and legal professionals on how to effectively engage with business entities for the resolution of international trade conflicts. It also provides a template for teaching and research activities to scholars focusing on international trade law, development studies and international dispute settlement.