William J. Davey
Research Professor
Guy Raymond Jones Chair Emeritus
About
William J. Davey is the Guy Raymond Jones Chair in Law Emeritus at the College of Law, where he has taught courses in international trade law, European Union law, international business transactions, and corporate/securities law since 1984. He retired in August 2008 but continues to teach international trade law from time to time.
From 1995-99, he was on leave and served as the director of the Legal Affairs Division of the World Trade Organization. Since 2001, he has chaired several WTO dispute settlement panels, including cases involving Brazil/Canada, Korea/EU, Japan/Ukraine, Pakistan/EU and Turkey/ EU, and served as a panelist in an EU/US dispute.
In 2007, the University of Berne conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on Professor Davey, inter alia, “for his fundamental work in the development and evolution of the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement system.” In 2004, he received the University of Illinois’ Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement.
Professor Davey is the author of Legal Problems of International Economic Relations (seventh edition 2021, with Jackson & Sykes); Non-discrimination in the World Trade Organization: The Rules and Exceptions (2012); European Union Law (third edition 2011, with Bermann, Goebel & Fox); Enforcing World Trade Rules: Essays on WTO Dispute Settlement and GATT Obligations (2006); Pine & Swine: Canada-United States Trade Dispute Settlement (1996); and Handbook of WTO/GATT Dispute Settlement (1991-2000, with Pescatore & Lowenfeld), as well as the editor of The Future of International Economic Law (2008, with Jackson). He has also written many articles and book chapters on various international trade law issues.
After graduating from law school in 1974, Professor Davey clerked for Judge J. Edward Lumbard (US Court of Appeals) and Justice Potter Stewart (US Supreme Court). He worked in Brussels and New York for Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton from 1978 to 1984. In 1967, he was named a US Presidential Scholar.
Education
BA, JD University of Michigan
Areas of Expertise
International Trade Law
Courses
International Trade Policy
JSD Directed Readings
Thesis Research
Selected Publications
Legal Problems of International Economic Relations (6th ed. 2013, with Jackson & Sykes)
Non-discrimination in the World Trade Organization: The Rules and Exceptions (2012)
Enforcing World Trade Rules: Essays on WTO Dispute Settlement and GATT Obligations (2006)
Pine & Swine: Canada-United States Trade Dispute Settlement (1996)
The WTO Dispute Settlement System: Dealing with Success, in Julien Chaisse and Tsai-yu Lin (eds.), International Economic Law and Governance: Essays in Honour of Mitsuo Matsushita 11-25 (Oxford 2016)
The First Years of WTO Dispute Settlement: Dealing With Controversy and Building Confidence, in Gabrielle Marceau, A History of Law and Lawyers in the GATT/WTO 353-373 (Cambridge 2015)
The WTO and Rules-Based Dispute Settlement: Historical Evolution, Operational Success and Future Challenges, 17 [Oxford] Journal of International Economic Law 679-700 (2014)
Dispute Settlement in GATT, 11 Fordham J. Intl. L. 51-109 (1987