THE WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT REVIEW COMMISSION - AN UNWISE EXTENSION OFEXTRAJUDICIAL ROLES

In the past decade, Congress has enlisted the Federal Judiciary to dea l with issues ranging from the appointment of special prosecutors to t he development of standardized sentencing guidelines. One area of part icular focus has been international trade. In November, 1995, then Sen ate Majority Leader Robert Dole introduced Senate Bill 1438 (S. 1438) which calls for a five-member panel, comprised of active federal circu it judges, to review all World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute resolu tion decisions adverse to the United States' economic interests. In th is Note, the author employs the separation of powers doctrine to exami ne both the constitutionality and the wisdom of utilizing federal judg es to review WTO decisions. The author delineates the long-standing pr actice of extra-judicial service by federal judges. Next, by comparing this proposal with the Supreme Court's decisions addressing extrajudi cial activity, the author concludes that the Court would likely uphold the constitutionality of S. 1438. However, the wisdom of the proposed Commission is not as apparent. The policy implications of embroiling federal judges in the politics of the WTO and the greater debate over United States' sovereignty would have a wholly detrimental effect on t he judicial branch.