Introduction: A Liber Amicorum to Celebrate Mitsuo Matsushita’s Contributions to International Economic Law

This chapter starts by explaining the purpose of the book, which was put together to honour Mitsuo Matsushita, who served as the founding member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body from 1995 to 2000. The chapter then gives a brief historical overview of his career and achievements. One of Matsushita’s achievements, it states, was to analyse the operation of the WTO’s dispute settlement system. His analysis concluded that the system has been relatively successful in resolving disputes, especially considering that the parties involved are sovereign states and that the WTO has only limited enforcement powers. One important consequence of that success, Matsushita argued, is that WTO Members have been bringing more cases involving more complex issues to the system for resolution. This has put the system under strain. Currently, the WTO faces the challenge of finding new, accountable, and appropriate structures, which are able to cope with globalization.