Rebalancing the balance

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to highlight the lack of fairness in the international trading system, including the HR policies in the WTO which have wider implications on the participation of developing countries in the multilateral trading system.Design/methodology/approachThe main research methodology undertaken for this paper is based on the quantitative approach, predominantly from sources such as books, articles and WTO reports.FindingsThere is a correlation between the HR policies employed by the WTO and the usage by developing countries of the WTO DSU.Practical implicationsThe implications of the research/paper indicate that discrimination against developing countries in the international system goes beyond their inherent weakness as poorer members of the international order. Such discrimination is deep rooted within the institutional governance of the system.Social implicationsThe need to re‐evaluate policies practices by international institutions in the light of the developments of the twenty‐first century.Originality/valueThere has been no work undertaken in relation to the use of language as a criterion for job selection and its implications on the participatory value of developing countries in the WTO DSU.