1.1.1
Delegation theory, rules of interpretation and the role of the WTO DSM
A recent debate in IR has centered on the conceptualization of the role of international courts. Key empirical questions are: 1) How autonomous courts work from states’ pressures and how can evolving court behaviour best be explained? 2) What explains how members of courts proactively and reactively address the pressures from member states?
This subproject comprises two areas of research that focus on the above questions separately. The first uses principal–agent theory to study appointment procedures to the WTO Appellate Body (AB). It is the first in-depth case study focusing on politicization of AB selection over time. The second study addresses the increasingly wide range of variation we observe in treaty interpretation by international courts. It provides a conceptual tool kit inspired by IL and IR theories in approaching the various types of interpretation and the underlying causal factors.
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