Dispute settlement - How does it really work?

Abstract
How to become a panellist despite being nominated by your government? Who is in the driving seat? How does it work behind the scenes? Finding a "positive solution" without rule-setting, despite ambiguous agreements and sloppy scheduling. How bad is the DSU after 18 years? Key players and their interests. Can small countries win a case? The importance of homework even for well-meaning third parties and amici curiae. Can dispute settlement continue while the Doha Round negotiations are in the doldrums?

Biography of the Speaker
Christian Häberli works as a Senior Research Fellow at the World Trade Institute of Bern University on various trade, agriculture and development policy issues. The WTI is a leading institution on international trade law and economics which combines graduate-level education, interdisciplinary research and specialised advisory services. His main research topic is food security from a trade and investment perspective. He also works as a lecturer and policy advisor in Europe, Asia, Africa, and in the Americas.
Graduation in 1977 with a Ph.D. on the subject of African Investment Law. Degrees for Development Sciences in Geneva (1975) and for Theology in Bern (2009). Professional career for the International Labour Organization (ILO) and for the Swiss Government with assignments in Madagascar, Thailand, Nepal, and Switzerland. As a trade negotiator for Switzerland in the GATT and the WTO, Dr Häberli participated in the Uruguay and in the Doha Rounds from 1986 to 2007. He also chaired the Swiss-EU Agriculture Committee. Further assignments in the WTO include chairing the Committee on Agriculture (Regular Session) and serving in seventeen stages of five dispute settlement cases: EC – Bananas, EC – Biotech, Japan – Apples, China – Trading Rights and United States – Country of Origin Labelling (COOL).