Amicus curiae in the WTO Dispute Settlement Procedure: A Developing Country's Foe?

The admittance of amicus curiae briefs in the US-Shrimp/Turtle dispute in 1998 stirred a debate among WTO Member States whether the dispute settlement procedure should be accessible for private individuals and entities. Developing countries firmly opposed the inclusion of amid curiae into the Disupute Settlement Understanding (DSU) and repeated their arguments frequently in cases leading to amicus submissions, fearing a further shift of power in favour of developed countries and changes in the nature of the dispute settlement system. The present article examines these concerns in light of the experience made with amicus submissions in 21 disputes. It will be argued that most of the fears expressed by developing countries are ungrounded and often base on wrong assumptions.