Research On The Third Party In WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism From Developing Countries’ Perspectives

WTO dispute settlement Mechanism made extraordinary contributions to the global economy and trade. It is very important in solving the trade dispute. The WTO dispute settlement system is considered an improvement on the old GATT system, and has been called the "backbone of the multilateral trading system". The third party system is an important part of DSM. DSU have provided more detailed rules about the third party participation in the dispute settlement, but there are some problems in practice.We should reform the WTO dispute settlement system, especially the third party right of access to DSM. There are some new legal problems arisen in practice. The members of WTO agreed that reforming the third party right is urgent. In the Doha round negotiations, the members proposed some proposals about reform the third party system. However, the members’opinions are different, their proposals are from different perspectives, up to now, there is no any achievements of text in line in the Doha Round negotiation. During the GATT period, developing countries rarely used the dispute settlement system. The WTO dispute settlement system was established on the assumption that developing countries could use it whenever they disputed an issue, regardless of their size and power. However, this has not happened and developing countries still face difficulties regarding the use of the WTO dispute settlement system. Nevertheless, there is an area in the Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) which is of particular importance for developing countries, and a considerable number of them have become involved in the DSM as third parties. The participation of developing country members in the proceedings of the dispute settlement will improve significantly their understanding of how the dispute mechanism works. It will also enhance their familiarity with the internal workings of the mechanism in order to be well prepared to protect their interests. China has entered to WTO thirteen years, up to now, china has participated in110cases as third party.we are active in participating the dispute settlement as third party. It is not only good for solving the trade dispute, but also protecting our interests. China shall continue to explore how to reform the third party system and develop the intervening practice, so as to safeguard our interests.This study seeks to discuss the third party participation in WTO system in a way of comparative research and case study. First this paper introduces the basic information of developing countries’participation as third party, including the justification of developing countries’ involvement in the DSM as third party. Second, The study seeks to discuss the position of developing countries in the WTO dispute mechanism and third party rights and the study analysis the problems of third party participation in DSM. Again, we review the controversy about third party reform in the Doha Round, including the difficulties facing developing countries in the DSM and links with third party rights in the DSU. It is argued that such rights are unclear, confusing and in need of strengthening.Then, the author gives some suggests about improving the third-party system. Finally, we review the practices of China participating in the dispute settlement as third party. We analysis the shortcomings of China’s participation and put forward some detailed proposals.