Judicial Conflicts between Panels and the Appellate Body in the WTO Safeguard Jurisprudence

Interestingly, there occur huge discrepancies in understanding and interpretation of the safeguard system between the World Trade Organization (WTO) panels and the Appellate Body (AB), even in its core concepts ranging from pre-conditions such as unforeseen developments to import increases, causation, types of injury, and permissible extent of the measure. These phenomena, which originate from the different approaches – contextual or literal – have contributed to the current debacles in the WTO dispute settlement system as well as egregious misuse of safeguard measures by WTO members. Future endeavours to reform the WTO system should therefore pay more attention to the safeguard system, especially where it causes unsettling jurisprudence.