WTO Trade disputes "from the inside"

This will be an interesting talk:

Appellate Body Member Tom Graham will be giving a talk at Hofstra on Feb. 6 entitled "It Sure Looks Different From the Inside: Deciding International Trade Disputes at the WTO". The title sounds promising, and from what I understand he will talk a bit about the use of the Vienna Convention by the AB in its decision-making.  He is not likely to be as forthcoming as, say, Justice Scalia, but he may say some interesting things nonetheless.

I don't see anything about live feed, too bad. I would have like to hear what he had to say--WTO decision-making is of interest to those of us keeping an eye on arbitration in tax treaties.  

WTO overwhelmed with disputes

Simon Lester notes a deluge of cases: "they keep coming, and it may be starting to strain the WTO's resources." He cites this report from Reuters:

The WTO's 157 members have launched 26 trade disputes so far in 2012, the most since 2003 and three times more than the eight new complaints filed in 2011. 

According to an internal WTO document seen by Reuters, the WTO decided to reallocate staff to the disputes team to deal with the increasing number and complexity of legal cases....

As well as moving staff, the trade body also advertised for a senior dispute settlement lawyer, at a starting salary of around 161,900 Swiss francs ($175,300), and is seeking short term candidates to help deal with the caseload.

Interesting development, especially against the backdrop of increased scrutiny and questions about the legal nature of these decisions.