Doctrine of Precedent in WTO

This paper contends that the general understanding that precedent system does not apply in the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism. The author argues that the drafters or the negotiators always wanted to have a judicial system resembling those that apply in the common law countries with the hope that it would provide certainty and predictability to the system. It was so devised as to be a fundamental departure from the traditional judicial method applicable in public international law. The article discusses the reasons for the assertion that doctrine of precedent applies in the WTO and the implications of it.