“The WTO organs are somewhat addicted to Chairman’s statements. It must be admitted that they often present a useful way out of the dilemma. The chairman pronounces them from the Chair, usually after painstaking consultations with many delegations, but in principle they are not fully negotiated. Nobody contradicts them, but nobody has accepted them either and everybody can live in the illusion that this statement is the Chair’s responsibility alone, does not really represent a true consensus or decision but, as if by magic, will still be followed and respected by everyone.”
Journal of World Trade