WTO争端解决中的举证责任及分配规则

The Rules of the Burden of Proof and Its Allocation in the WTO Dispute Settlement

举证责任是指在争端解决中当事方为了向审理者证明其所主张的事实,必须提出证明的责任。在WTO争端解决中,提出特定事实主张的当事方,负有提供相关事实证据的责任。举证责任分配的问题非常重要,往往可能决定着一个案件的判决结果。在WTO争端解决程序中,举证责任的分配标准原则上是由当事方所主张应适用条款的性质决定,即该项条款的性质是否为积极的主张条款或抗辩条款。如果是主张条款,原则上应由申诉方主张与证明该条款的适用性。如果是抗辩条款,则应由被诉方主张与证明该条款的适用性。

The burden of proof is the responsibility of the party that presents evidence to the judge in order to prove its claims. In the WTO dispute settlement, the party who proposed specific factual claims bears the responsibility to pre-sent evidence. Allocation of the burden of proof may often determine the outcome of a case. In the WTO dispute settlement procedure, criteria for allocation of the burden of proof principally are determined by the nature of the terms that is advo- cated by the disputing party, namely, whether the nature of the terms is a positive assertion or defense clause. If the nature of the terms is a positive assertion clause, in principle, the complainant should prove the applicability of the terms. If the nature of the terms is a defense clause, the defendant should prove the applicability of the terms.