AGLC4 Rule 13.1.3: WTO Panel, Appellate Body and Arbitration Decisions

A WTO panel report, Appellate Body report or decision of an arbitrator is cited by its document description, the italic case name, the WTO document number, the full date and a paragraph pinpoint. Later stages between the same parties add the second subtitle of the report after an em dash. A date of adoption may be included, an unadopted report may be marked as such, and a Dispute Settlement Reports citation may follow the date.

AGLC4 page 187

Format

Quoted from the Guide, page 187
DSR Year:Volume, Starting Page

A boxed element is filled in with the source's details; everything outside a box is written exactly as shown.

Formatting

  • The document description comes first, roman, as Panel Report, Appellate Body Report or Decision by the Arbitrator, followed by a comma.
  • The case name is italic and copied from the report, with no full stops in abbreviations (rule 1.6) and capitalisation under rule 1.7; a roman comma follows it.
  • Dashes inside the case name are spaced em dashes and are italic with the rest of the name.
  • For later stages in the same dispute, the second subtitle (such as Recourse to Article 21.5 by a member) is added to the case name after a spaced em dash.
  • WTO Doc is roman with no full stop, followed by the document number.
  • The full date is in round brackets; an adoption date goes inside them after a comma and adopted; an unadopted report has a comma and unadopted inside them instead.
  • An optional DSR citation follows the date after a space: DSR, the year, a colon, the volume in Roman numerals with no space after the colon, a comma and the starting page.
  • Pinpoints are paragraph numbers in square brackets under rules 1.1.6 to 1.1.7; ranges join two bracketed numbers with an en dash.
  • No page number is given in the pinpoint, even where a DSR citation is included.
  • No comma precedes the pinpoint unless a DSR citation is included, in which case a comma separates the DSR starting page from the pinpoint.

Examples

Quoted from the Guide, page 187
  1. 9
    Panel Report, China — Measures Affecting the Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights, WTO Doc WT/DS362/R (26 January 2009) [7.28]–[7.50].
  2. 10
    Panel Report, Russia — Anti-Dumping Duties on Light Commercial Vehicles from Germany and Italy, WTO Doc WT/DS479/R (27 January 2017) [7.50]–[7.51].
  3. 11
    Appellate Body Report, Colombia — Measures Relating to the Importation of Textiles, Apparel and Footwear, WTO Doc WT/DS461/AB/R (7 June 2016) [5.96].
  4. 12
    Decision by the Arbitrator, Brazil — Measures Affecting Imports of Retreaded Tyres — Arbitration under Article 21.3(c) of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, WTO Doc WT/DS332/16 (29 August 2008) [25]–[28].
  5. 13
    Panel Report, Guatemala — Anti-Dumping Investigation regarding Portland Cement from Mexico, WTO Doc WT/DS60/R (19 June 1998, adopted 25 November 1998) DSR 1998:IX, 3797, [4.49].

Forms in the rule

Quoted from the Guide, page 187
  • ‘Panel Report’
  • ‘Appellate Body Report’
  • ‘Decision by the Arbitrator’
  • ‘— Recourse to Article 21.5 by …’
  • ‘— Recourse to Arbitration by … under …’
  • ‘(12 May 2007, unadopted)’
  • ‘DSR 1999:III, 1377’

Elements of WTO panel and Appellate Body reports, with two worked examples

Quoted from the Guide, page 187
ElementExampleExample
Document DescriptionPanel Report,Appellate Body Report,
Case NameColombia — Indicative Prices and Restrictions on Ports of Entry,United States — Continued Existence and Application of Zeroing Methodology,
Document NumberWTO Doc WT/DS366/RWTO Doc WT/DS350/AB/R
Full Date(27 April 2009)(4 February 2009)
Pinpoint[7.1][171]

See also

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Formats, examples, passages, tables and the forms marked Not are quoted from the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed, Melbourne University Law Review Association, 2018), with the page of the Guide they appear on. Titles, summaries and explanations are our own.