Prof. Dr. Peter L. H. Van den Bossche, LL.M.
Curriculum vitae
Summary
Peter Van den Bossche is Chair Professor of International Economic Law at the School of Law, Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU), China. He was a member of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization from 2009 to 2019, and served as its chairman in 2015. From 2018 to 2024, he was President of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL), and from 2016 to 2024, Director of Studies of the World Trade Institute (WTI), University of Bern, Switzerland. He is a Fellow Emeritus of the WTI, Professor Emeritus at the University of Bern and Maastricht University, the Netherlands, and a visiting professor at Bocconi University, Milan (since 2022), at the Université de Genève (since 2018), and at LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome (since 2016). He was a visiting professor at the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium from 2010 to 2024, the University of Barcelona from 2002 to 2017, and at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador from 2016 to 2020. In 2023, he was the Tsai Wan-Tsai Distinguished Visiting Professor of International Law at the College of Law of Taiwan National University, Taipei, and in 2010 Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence. Van den Bossche is member of the Advisory Board of theWorld Trade Review, theJournal of International Economic Law, theJournal of World Investment and Tradeand theRevista Latinoamericana de Derecho Comercial International. Since 2013, he is also member of the Advisory Board of the WTO Chairs Programme (WCP). Van den Bossche is on the roster of arbitrators for disputes under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), and the EU-Andean Community Trade Agreement, on the panel of arbitrators of the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA) and the South China International Arbitration Center (Hong Kong) (SCIAHK), and on the EU list of candidates suitable for appointment as arbitrators and TSD experts. Van den Bossche currently serves as an adjudicator on two WTO disputes:European Union - Stainless Steel Cold-Rolled Flat Products (Indonesia)(DS616) andEuropean Union - Biodiesel (Indonesia)(DS618). Van den Bossche is the author (with Werner Zdouc) ofThe Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization, 5th edition (Cambridge University Press, 2022), 1170 p., and (with Denise Prévost) ofEssentials of WTO Law, 2nd edition (Cambridge University Press, 2021), 223 p. The Chinese edition ofThe Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization,世界贸易组织法原理,was published in 2020 by Law Press China.
Personal information
Name Peter Leo Henri Van den Bossche
Date of birth 31/03/1959
CitizenshipBelgium
Contact vandenbossche@xjtu.edu.cn
+86 029-82664491
Education
1990PhD in Law,European University Institute, Badia Fiesolana, Via dei Roccettini 9, I-50014 San Domenico di Fiesole, Italy,www.eui.eu
1986LL.M., University of Michigan Law School, 25 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States,www.law.umich.edu
1982Licentiaat in de Rechten, Faculteit Rechten, Universiteit Antwerpen, Venusstraat 23, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium,www.uantwerpen.be/nl/faculteiten/faculteit-rechten/
Employment history
2025 – present Chair Professor of International Economic Law, School of Law, Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU), 28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an, 710049, P.R. China,www.fxy.xjtu.edu.cn
2009 – 2019 Member and Chair of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO),Centre William Rappard, Rue de Lausanne 154, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland,www.wto.org
2016 –2024Director of Studies,World Trade Institute (WTI), University of Bern, Hallerstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland,www.wti.org
2016 – 2025 Professor of International Economic Law, Faculty of Law, University of Bern, Schanzeneckstrasse 1, 3001 Bern, Switzerland,www.rechtswissenschaft.unibe.ch
2001 – 2016 Professor of International Economic Law,Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, Bouillonstraat 1-3, 6211 LH Maastricht, The Netherlands,www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/about-um/faculties/faculty-law
1997 – 2001Counsellor and Acting Director,Appellate Body Secretariat, World Trade Organization, Rue de Lausanne 154, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland,www.wto.org
1992 – 1997 Associate Professor of International and European Law, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, Bouillonstraat 1-3, 6211 LH Maastricht, The Netherlands,www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/about-um/faculties/faculty-law
1990 – 1992 Référendaire of Advocate General Walter Van Gerven,European Court of Justice,
Rue du Fort Niedergrünewald, L-2925 Luxembourg,www.curia.europa.eu
1988 – 1990 Research Associate,European Policy Unit and Department of Law, European University Institute, Badia Fiesolana, Via dei Roccettini 9, I-50014 San Domenico di Fiesole, Italy,www.eui.eu
Institutional responsibilities
2025 – present Research Director, Institute for Belt and Road Initiative and International Legal Studies,www.sfs.xjtu.edcu.cn
2018 – 2024 President, Society of International Economic Law,www.sielnet.org
2016 – present Director of Studies, World Trade Institute,www.wti.org
2019 – 2021 Editor, World Trade Review, Cambridge University Press,https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-trade-review
2015 Chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization,www.wto.org
2007 – 2009 Academic Director, Institute for Globalisation and International Regulation (IGIR), Maastricht University,https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/igir
2005 – 2009 Head of Department, Department of International and European Law, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University,www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/about-um/faculties/faculty-law
2001 Acting Director, Appellate Body Secretariat, World Trade Institute, ,www.wto.org
1992 – 1997 Director of Studies,Magister Iuris CommunisProgramme, Maastricht University,www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/about-um/faculties/faculty-law
1988 – 1989 Executive Coordinator, European Policy Unit, European University Institute,www.eui.eu
Publications
Recent publications of Van den Bossche include:
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘The Uncertain Future of WTO Dispute Settlement: An Appraisal of the February 2024 Consolidated Text Resulting from the Molina Process’, in Krista Nadakavukaren, Rodrigo Polanco, and Pierre Sauve (editors), International Economic Law as Symphony: Thomas Cottier and the Harmonies of Trade (Hart Publishing, forthcoming 2025)
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘WTO Dispute Settlement Reform: A Critical Assessment of the February 2024 Consolidated Text of a Draft Ministerial Decision on Dispute Settlement’, in Valentina Vadi and David Collins (editors), Routledge Handbook on International Economic Law (Routledge, forthcoming 2025)
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘The Demise of the WTO Appellate Body: Lessons for Governance of International Adjudication?, in Niels Blokker and Sergey Vasiliev (editors), Governance of International Courts and Tribunals (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2025)
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘Can the WTO Dispute Settlement System be Revived? Options for Addressing a Major Governance Failure of the World Trade Organization’,in A. Steinbach & E.-U. Petersmann (Eds.)Constitutionalism and Transnational Governance Failures(Brill Nijhoff, 2024).
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘Article XX GATT’, in T. Cottier/K. Nadakavukaren Schefer (eds.),Elgar Encyclopedia of International Economic Law(Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024).
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘Article XIVGATS’, in T. Cottier/K. Nadakavukaren Schefer (eds.),Elgar Encyclopedia of International Economic Law(Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024).
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘Can the WTO Dispute Settlement System be Revived? Options for Addressing a Major Governance Failure of the World Trade Organization’, WTI Working Papers, No. 03/2023
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘Is There a Future for the WTO Appellate Body and WTO Dispute Settlement?’, in F. Baetens/S. Van den Bogaert (Eds.),The EU and the WTO: Ever the Twain Shall Meet, Liber Amicorum Marco Bronkers, (Wolters/Kluwer, 2023).
·P. Van den Bossche/P. Ganeriwal, ‘Interpretation’, Chapter 37, in D. Bethlehem/I. Van Damme/D. McRae/R. Neufeld (eds),Oxford Handbook on International Trade Law, 2nd ed.(Oxford University Press, 2022).
·P. Van den Bossche, Article 10 DSU, Article 18 DSU and Article XII WTO Agreement, inCommentaries on World Trade Law, Volume I: Institutions and Dispute Settlement,P.-T. Stoll/H. Hestermeyer & L. Wanner (Eds.)(Brill, 2022)
·P. Van den Bossche/W. Zdouc,The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization, 5th edition (Cambridge University Press, 2022), 1177 p.
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘The TRIPS Agreement and WTO Dispute Settlement: Past, Present and
·Future’, in C. Heath/A. Kamperman Sanders (eds.),25 years of the TRIPS Agreement: Past, Present and Future(Kluwer Law International, 2022).
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘Is there a Future for the WTO Appellate Body and WTO Dispute Settlement?’,WTI Working Papers 01/2022.
·P. Van den Bossche/D. Prévost,Essential of WTO Law, 2nd edition (Cambridge University Press, 2021), 223 p.
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘The Demise of the WTO Appellate Body: Lessons for Governance of International Adjudication?’WTI Working Paper 02/2021, to be published in an update version in N. Blokker (ed.),Governance of International Courts and Tribunals, (forthcoming).
·P. Van den Bossche/M. Elsig/R. Polanco (eds.),International Economic Dispute Settlement: Demise or Transformation(Cambridge University Press, 2021), 505 p.
·P. Van den Bossche/S. Akpofure, ‘The Use and Abuse of the National Security Exception under Article XXI(b)(iii) of the GATT 1994’, in Cheng Chia-Jui (ed.),A New Global Economic Order(Brill/Nijholff, 2021).
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘WTO Law as a Constraint on Domestic Environmental Policy: An Overview’, in P. Delitmatsis/L. Reins,ElgarEncyclopedia of Environmental Law Series – Trade and Environmental Law(Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021), p. 25-43.
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘Appellate Body: Dispute Settlement of the World Trade Organization (WTO)’,Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL)andMax Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (MPEiPro)(Oxford University Press, 2020).
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘The National Security Exception in International Trade Law Today: Can We Avoid Abuse’, inPreadvies van de Vereeniging Handelsrecht 2020(Uitgeverij Parijs, 2020), 111- 146.
·P. Van den Bossche/W. Shan,世界贸易组织法原理(Law Press – China, 2019), 1151 p.
·P. Van den Bossche, ‘Is there Evolution in the Evolutionary Interpretation of WTO Law?’, in G. Abi-Saab/K. Kenneth/G. Marceau, Gabrielle/C. Marquet (eds.),Evolutionary Interpretation and International Law(Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2019), 221-228.
·P. Van den Bossche, Article XX GATT and Article XIV GATS’, in T. Cottier/K. Nadakavukaren Schefer (eds.),Elgar Encyclopedia of International Economic Law(Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017), 260-263.
·P. Van den Bossche/W. Zdouc,The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization, 4th edition (Cambridge University Press, 2017), 1077 p.
Research projects
From 2009 to 2019, Van den Bossche was, as Member of the WTO Appellate Body, barred from conducting government-funded research under theRules of Conduct for WTO Dispute Settlement.
Before 2009, Peter Van den Bossche acted as a consultant to, and conducted commissioned research on international trade law issues for the European Commission, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands Ministry for the Environment, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD).
Capacity building and consultancy activities
Van den Bossche conducted capacity building and consultancy activities and/orlectured on WTO law and international economic dispute settlementin Belgium; Brazil; Brunei; Cambodia; Canada; China; Colombia; Ecuador; France; Germany; Guatemala; Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia; Ireland, Italy; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Korea; Lao PDR; Macau, China; Mexico; Netherlands, Nicaragua; Peru; Philippines; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Spain; South Africa; Switzerland; Taiwan; Thailand; Turkey; Tanzania; United Kingdom; Uzbekistan; and Vietnam.
Involvement in international dispute resolution
·Panelist, WTO Panel,European Union – Countervailing Duties on Imports of Biodiesel from Indonesia(DS618) (Panel composed in March 2024)
·Panelist, WTO Panel,European Union – Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties on Stainless Steel Cold-Rolled Flat Products from Indonesia(DS616) (Panel composed in September 2023)
·List of Arbitrators referred to in Part 6, Title I of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom (CTA)
·List of Arbitrators pursuant to Article 29.8 of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada (CETA)
·List of Arbitrators pursuant to Article 304 of the Trade Agreement between the European Union and Colombia, Ecuador and Peru
·List of Arbitrators of the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA) and the South China International Arbitration Center (Hong Kong) (SCIAHK)
·Member and Chair of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) (2009-2019)
·Counsellor and Acting Director,Appellate Body Secretariat, World Trade Organization (1997-2001)
·Référendaire of Advocate General Walter Van Gerven,European Court of Justice (1990-1992)
From 2020 to 2022, Van den Bossche was of counsel atFratini Vergano European Lawyers(Brussels/Singapore), which represented Malaysia in the WTO disputeEU – Palm Oil (Malaysia)(DS600).
Visiting professorships
·Van den Bosscheheld visiting professorships at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium (from 2002 to 2009); at the University of Barcelona Faculty of Law (from 2008 to 2017); at the China-EU School of Law (CESL), China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL), Beijing, China (from 2008 to 2014); at the World Trade Institute (from 2002 to 2016); at the Academy of International Trade and Investment Law, Macau, China (from2003to2013and 2019); at the Trade Policy Training Centre in Africa (trapca), Arusha, Tanzania (in 2008 and 2013); at the Foreign Trade University, Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (in 2009 and 2011); at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador (in 2013); at the Law School of Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey (in 2013); at the Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, Australia (in 2014);at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Pelita Harapan, Jakarta, Indonesia (in 2014);at theCollege of Law, Taiwan National University (NTU) (2023), at theColegio de Jurisprudencia, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador (from 2016 to 2020); at the College of Europe, Brugge, Belgium (from 2010 to 2024); and at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, India (2025).
He currently holds a visiting professorship at:
·Faculty of Law, Bocconi University, Via Sarfatti, 25 Milano, Italy,www.unibocconi.eu/wps/wcm/connect/bocconi/sitopubblico_en/navigation+tree/home/about+us/organization/schools/school+of+law/(2019 and since 2022)
·Faculté de Droit, Université de Genève,24 rue du Général-Dufour, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland,www.unige.ch/droit/(since 2018)
·LUISS School of Law, Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli, Viale Romania, 32, 00197 Roma RM, Italy,www.luiss.it(since 2016)
·Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, NADEF House, Siddhartha Enclave, Ring Road, Ashram Chowk, New Delhi - 110 014,www.wtocentre.iift.an.in(since 2016)
Ad hocguest lectures
For an overview of lectures delivered in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 ininter aliaXi’an, China; Taipei, Taiwan; Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Geneva, Switzerland; Seoul, Korea; Lima and Arequipa, Peru; Quito, Ecuador; Milan, Italy; Paris, France; Maastricht, The Netherlands; Dublin, Ireland; Riga, Latvia, and New Delhi, India, seewww.wti.org/institute/news/?q=Peter+Van+den+Bossche.
PhD research supervision (concluded)
·Denise Prévost (South Africa),Balancing Trade and Health in the SPS Agreement: The Development Dimension(2009)
·Fleur Claessens (Netherlands),Intellectual Property and Developing Countries: Balancing Rights and Obligations(2009)
·Carol Nighiollarnath (Ireland),Renewable Energy Tax Incentives and WTO law: Irreconcilably Incompatible(2011)
·Anke Moerland (Germany),Why Jamaica Wants to Protect Champagne: Intellectual Property Protection in EU Bilateral Trade Agreements(2011)
·David Collins (Canada),The BRIC States and Outward Foreign Direct Investment in Services(2013)
·Stephanie Cartier (Canada),Institutionalization of International Justice(2012)
·Iveta Alexovičová (Slovac Republic),From Hiring to Firing: a Comparative Study of Selected Legal Safeguards for the Independence and Impartiality of International Civil Servants Serving in the United Nations Secretariat and in the European Commission(2012)
·Ardit Memeti (Macedonia),Membership in International Organizations: Inequality among Equals(2013)
·Arkady Kudryavtsev (Russian Federation),Private-Sector Standards as Technical Barriers in International Trade in Goods: In Search of WTO Disciplines(2015)
·Maarten Smeets (Netherlands),The WTO Multilateral Trading System in a Globalizing World: Challegnges and Opportunities(2017)
·Siamak Amoozeidi (Islamic Republic of Iran),The WTO Dispute Settlement System as a Legal Impediment to Iran’s Accession to the WTO(2017)
·SHANG Kelly Kuan (China),WTO Law on Export Restrictions on Trade in Goods: Seek and You Shall Find(2017)
·Ify Ogo (Nigeria),Legal Reforms for Economic development in Africa: How Effective? A Comparative Investigation of Legal Reforms for Public Debt Management in Nigeria and Rwanda(2018)
·Gianni Avila (Belize), The Caribbean Community Preferential Trade Agreement: Is there a legal obligation to create trade?(2019)
·Sebastián Espino (Ecuador),Ecuador and International Investment Law and Policy: Between Constitutional Sovereignty and State Responsibility(2019)
·Wolfgang Giernalczyk (Germany),The Development of the Multilateral Trade Regime – Exploring Institutional Change(2019)
·Nishara Mendis (Sri Lanka),National Policy Space in the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services with Special Reference to Public Health Services(2020)
·Leonardo Macedo (Brazil),Ad Valorem Tariffs and Customs Valuation: Implications for the Stability and Predictability of National Revenue from Tariffs(2020)
·ZHAO Chunlei (China),Towards a Comprehensive Dispute Settlement System in a China-EU Bilateral Investment Treaty(2020)
·Michelle Kristy (Indonesia),The Evolution of Sustainable Development in Public International Law: How Does it Affect WTO Agreement Covering the Domestic Regulation of Trade in Goods?(2021)
·WANG Anqi (China),The Interpretation and Application of the Most-Favoured-Nation Clause in Investment Arbitration(2021)
·Brigitta Imeli (Switzerland),Private Sustainability Standards and the WTO: A Case Study from Switzerland(2022)
·Emma Moulds (Australia),The Patchwork in the Sky: An Examination of How the Eight Largest Global Aviation Markets Regulate Trade, Investment and Alliances Between Airlines(2022)
·Senai Andemariam (Eritrea),The Concept of Necessity in WTO Law: Lessons from and for the Other Fields of International(2022)
·Natalia De Lima Figeuiredo (Brazil),Local Content Requirements in WTO Law: Between Free Trade and the Right to Development(2022)
·Umid Anvarkhodjaevich Yakubkhodjaev (Uzbekistan),The WTO’s Legal Architecture and its Asymmetries(2023)
·Frank Sina (Tanzania),Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and its Implementation in the United States of America, the European Union, Tanzania, India and Colombia(2023)
·WU Hsin-Yi (Taiwan),Temporal Rules in WTO Law(2024)
·Jens Hillebrand Pohl (Sweden),Arbitration of Disputes Related to National Security Screening of Foreign Investment(2024)
PhD research supervision (ongoing)
Irina Weissert (Switzerland)
Sean Stacy (United States)
Hugo Cahueñas (Ecuador)
PENG Delei (China)
Yuliia Kucheriava (Ukraine)
Boris Biksadski (Slovak Republic)
LIU Yinuo (China)
Shailja Singh (India)
Anthony Abad (Philippines)
MA Renru (China)
DING Beichen (China)
Waafa Saadeh (Palestine)
Carolina Palma (Costa Rica)
Isaias Berhe (Eritrea)
Umida Khahnazar (Uzbekistan)
Roberto Claros (Peru)
Nosirkhon Gozikhonov (Uzbekistan)
Ciro Leal Martins de Cunha (Brazil)
Victor Saco (Peru)
Teaching activities
International Trade Law
Advanced International Trade Law
International Economic Dispute Resolution
International Economic Law and the Pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals
Membership in panels, boards, etc. and scientific reviewing activities
Member of the Academic Advisory Board of theWTO Chairs Programme, World Trade Organization,
www.wto.org
Member of the Editorial Board of theWorld Trade Review,https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-trade-review
Member of the Advisory Board of theJournal of International Economic Law,https://academic.oup.com/jiel
Member of the Advisory Board of theJournal of World Investment and Trade,http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/22119000
Member of the Advisory Board of theRevista Latinoamericana de Derecho Comercial Internacional,https://revistas-colaboracion.juridicas.unam.mx/index.php/comercial
Active memberships in scientific societies, fellowships in renowned academies
Member and former President, Society of International Economic Law (SIEL),www.sielnet.org
Member, European Society of International Law (ESIL),http://esil-sedi.eu/.
Prizes, awards, fellowships
·Tsai Wan-Tsai Distinguished Visiting Professorship, College of Law, National Taiwan University, Taipe, Taiwan (2023)
·Fernand Braudel Senior Research Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy (2010)
·Senior Fellow at the Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia (2014)
·Honorary Professor, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, The Netherlands (2018-2022)
·D. Prévost/I. Alexovičová/J. Hillebrand Pohl,Restoring Trust in Trade: Liber Amicorum in Honour of Peter Van den Bossche(Hart Publishing, 2019), 288 p.
