Reckoning and Renewal: The World Trade Organization and Its Dispute Settlement System at 30 offers a timely and in-depth reflection on the evolution of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its dispute settlement system on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. In a decade marked by unprecedented challenges
including the US blockade of the WTO's dispute resolution process, the rise of national security disputes, and the USChina trade war
this volume provides a critical reassessment of the WTO's achievements, failures, and prospects for renewal.
Bringing together leading experts, the book examines the organization's past, diagnoses the challenges facing its dispute settlement system, and explores potential reforms both within and beyond the WTO framework. This collection also celebrates the extraordinary career of Valerie Hughes
the first and only person to lead both the WTO's Legal Affairs Division and its Appellate Body Secretariat
whose contributions have shaped the field of international trade law.
Featuring insights from Hughes' colleagues, mentees, and students, this landmark volume is the first liber amicorum dedicated to a woman in international trade law, offering both a tribute and a roadmap for the future of global trade governance.
Edited by:
Nicolas Lamp
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 32mm
Weight: 860g
ISBN: 9781487570897
ISBN 10: 1487570899
Pages: 324
Publication Date: 02 January 2026
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
College/higher education
,
Undergraduate
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface 1. Introduction: Taking Stock of the World Trade Organization and Its Dispute Settlement System at 30 Nicolas Lamp Part 1: Reckoning – The Origins, Functioning, and Crisis of WTO Dispute Settlement Building Domestic Capacity for WTO Dispute Settlement – The Canadian Experience 2. From Public International Law to International Economic Law: Valerie Hughes and the Development of International Trade Law Expertise in Canada Mark Jewett and Jonathan Fried 3. Developing a Government Trade Law Office: Canada, the Trade Law Bureau, and Valerie Hughes Rambod Behboodi The Work of the Legal Affairs Division 4. The Evolution of the Appointment of WTO Adjudicators Maria Pereyra and Carlo Cantore 5. Continuity and Renewal: Nurturing WTO Legal Talent through Internships at the Legal Affairs Division Daniel Ari Baker, Jenya Grigorova, and Rodd Izadnia 6. Bringing WTO Dispute Settlement into the 21st Century Marisa Goldstein and Lizzie Medrano 7. The Role of the Secretariat in WTO Dispute Settlement – Lessons from Other Adjudicatory Bodies Gabrielle Marceau and Maria George Reflections on the Appellate Body 8. Building the Appellate Body: Lessons from the US Archives for Today's Dispute Settlement Crisis Simon Lester 9. Valerie Hughes – The Light behind the Bushel of the Appellate Body of the WTO A.V. Ganesan 10. What Did We (I) Do Wrong? Reflections from an Appellate Body Member Ricardo Ramirez WTO Dispute Settlement and Developing Countries 11. Legal Advice, Assistance, and Training on WTO Dispute Settlement to Developing and Least Developed Country Members and Observers Jorge Castro and Fernando Piérola 12. Some Developing Countries Are More Equal Than Others: The Enduring Challenge of Making Trade Dispute Settlement Work for All Matéo Diego-Fernández Andrade 13. What Can Other Developing Countries Learn from China’s Successful Experience in the WTO Dispute Settlement System? Henry Gao and Ji Wenhua Specific Topics in WTO Dispute Settlement 14. The Past, Present, and Future of Disputes about Trade in Energy in the WTO Iain Sandford 15. WTO Disputes on Trade and Environment: Contributions of the Multilateral Trading System to Effective Environmental Protection Policies Mateo Ferrero 16. Where Angels Fear to Tread: The General Standard of Review in WTO Law James Flett 17. Not So Member-Driven After All: How the GATT Secretariat Created the WTO's Prospective Remedies Geraldo Vidigal Broader Reflections on WTO Dispute Settlement 18. 30 Years of Trade Concerns at the Goods Council: How Do They Relate to Disputes under the DSU? Roy Santana and Adeet Dobhal 19. Women in WTO Dispute Settlement: The Role of Individuals as Catalysts for Gender Inclusion Penelope Ridings 20. WTO Dispute Settlement 1.0 and the Intricate Cycle of Governance Sivan Shlomo-Agon 21. Reflections on WTO Dispute Settlement as an International Dispute Settlement Mechanism Donald McRae 22. Is Perfect the Enemy of Good: Panel and Appellate Body Report Adoption at Any Cost? Chris Cochlin, Mallory Felix and Alexander Hobbs Part 2: Renewal – New Directions in Trade Dispute Settlement The Turn to FTA Dispute Settlement 23. The Surprising Success of State-to-State Dispute Settlement under CUSMA So Far Anthony Vanduzer 24. Public Participation in FTA Disputes Kathleen Claussen 25. The Role of WTO Jurisprudence in FTA Dispute Settlement Michael Solursh 26. Treaty Interpretation by Dispute Settlement Panels under RTAs: The Case of Article 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties Dena Givari 27. Beyond the Shores of Lake Geneva: Does the WTO Secretariat Have a Role to Play in FTA Dispute Settlement? Scott Falls The Turn to Arbitration and Dispute Settlement Reform 28. From Alabama to Airbus – 150 Years of International Arbitration in Geneva Niall Meagher 29. Arbitration in WTO Dispute Settlement: A Temporary Instrument or the System’s Future? Müslüm Yilmaz 30. The MPIA: A Step on the Path to Revitalizing the WTO Dispute Settlement System Jan Bohanes 31. The Dispute Settlement Reform Discussions – A New Approach Marco Tulio Molina Tejeda Part 3: Renewal – The Rulemaking Dimension 32. An Immediate Role for the WTO in Fighting the Climate Crisis? Jennifer Hillman 33. Disciplining Fossil Fuel Subsidies at the WTO: Building Momentum for Reform Ron Steenblik 34. #Tradeforwomen: Gender Mainstreaming in WTO Trade Agreements Margaret M. Kim 35. The End of the “Single Undertaking” in WTO Negotiations Andrew Stoler 36. Reforming the WTO’s Dispute Settlement System – Putting the Cart before the Horse Ujal Bhatia Part 4: Concluding Reflections 37. Valerie Hughes as a Model and a Leader Nadia Theodore
Nicolas Lamp is an associate professor in the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University.
Reviews for Reckoning and Renewal: the World Trade Organization and Its Dispute Settlement System at 30: Essays in Honour of Valerie Hughes
“Maya Angelou once said, ‘You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been.’ Through a rich collection of essays honouring Valerie Hughes’ trade law career, readers are guided through the institutional history of the World Trade Organization. Thirty-four contributions offer genuinely innovative assessments of the development of WTO institutions through personal experiences and historical reflections. Readers will learn about Hughes’ legacy as a leader, mentor, and trade law professional and, most importantly, how personal relationships underscore the rules, disputes, and politics of the multilateral trade system.” -- Mona Paulsen, Assistant Professor of Law, London School of Economics “This excellent collection of essays on the WTO’s dispute settlement system in honor of Valerie Hughes, who gave so much to it as longstanding director of the WTO’s Legal Affairs Division as well as of the WTO Appellate Body Secretariat, is an important read. Wonderfully organized and edited by Nicolas Lamp, this book, which addresses the system’s achievements, shortcomings, and uncertain future, is especially important at a time when the world’s great power, the United States, undermines trade multilateralism and its dispute settlement system. There are many lessons to be learned from a diverse set of distinguished authors, many of whom have played and are continuing to play key roles in the system.” -- Gregory Shaffer, Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of International Law, Georgetown University Law Center “This book provides a cornucopia of rich insights by 44 commentators into the evolution of the dispute settlement regime of the World Trade Organizations and its current state of crisis, mostly by insiders either domestically or internationally. It appropriately honours the profound influence of Valerie Hughes in shaping developments in both domains.” -- Michael Trebilcock, University Professor Emeritus of Law and Economics, University of Toronto
