This volume brings together essays by world renowned leaders in the field of international trade examining the operation of the WTO and its dispute settlement system The experts who have contributed to this book include policymakers scholars lawyers and diplomats Two major areas of inquiry are undertaken The first half of this volume examines the governance and operation of the WTO and the international trading system It pays particular attention to issues that affect developing country members of the WTO The second half of this volume contains a detailed examination of the performance operation and challenges of the WTO s dispute settlement system This book is an outgrowth of a conference held at Columbia University in New York in the spring of 2006 The conference was the last of a series of five regional gatherings held around the world to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the WTO and its dispute settlement system This volume includes essays that shed further light on some of the themes raised in those discussions as well as edited transcripts from that conference
