For all the attention paid to the panelists and Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Secretariat plays an overlooked and increasingly important role in the dispute settlement mechanism (DSM), including in selecting panelists, writing “issue papers” for adjudicators, providing economic expert advice, participating in internal deliberations, and drafting actual rulings. This Article argues that, given these functions, the DSM is better understood to be a sui generis administrative review process than it is a “World Trade Court.”

中文翻译：

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谁来守护“系统的守护者”？秘书处在 WTO 争端解决中的作用

尽管世界贸易组织 (WTO) 的小组成员和上诉机构受到了所有关注，但秘书处在争端解决机制 (DSM) 中发挥着被忽视且越来越重要的作用，包括选择小组成员、为裁决者撰写“议题文件” ，提供经济专家意见，参与内部审议，起草实际裁决。本文认为，鉴于这些职能，将 DSM 更好地理解为一种特殊的行政审查程序，而不是“世界贸易法院”。