Rice Age: Comments on the Panel Report in Turkey – Measures Affecting the Importation of Rice

At face value, Turkey-Rice is not the most complex or important WTO dispute ever litigated. The facts of the case give strong reason to believe that Turkeyʹs restrictions on rice imports from the United States were not GATT-consistent. Turkeyʹs steadfast refusal to provide exonerating evidence in its defence and the Panelʹs drawing of appropriate inference were probably the most remarkable issues of the case. Nevertheless, Turkey-Rice raises at least one interesting legal and economic question: How ʹactivistʹ are dispute panels today, and how interventionist should they be during the litigation process ? We discuss the justification and role of activist panels and assess the consequences for partiesʹ strategic behavior and incentive to provide accurate information.