Press Releases

Appointment of Professor Emeritus ARAKI Ichiro of Yokohama National University as an Arbitrator for the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) at the WTO

June 3, 2025
  1. On May 28, the Members participating in the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) at the World Trade Organization (WTO) partially re-composed the pool of arbitrators, which includes Professor Emeritus ARAKI Ichiro of Yokohama National University, who was nominated by Japan. The new pool became effective from June 1st.
  2. Japan welcomes the appointment of Professor Emeritus ARAKI to the new MPIA pool of arbitrators and expects that the expertise of Professor Emeritus ARAKI, who has accomplished many outstanding achievements, both domestically and internationally, in the field of international trade law, including the WTO Agreements, will enhance the predictability of the WTO dispute settlement system through the MPIA, and contribute to the maintenance and strengthening of the rules-based multilateral trading system.

(Reference) Profile of Professor Emeritus ARAKI Ichiro, Yokohama National University

Professor Emeritus ARAKI served as a Legal Affairs Officer at the WTO Legal Affairs Division from 1995 to 1998 and has been teaching at Yokohama National University since 2003. He has experience as a panelist in WTO dispute settlement procedures. He graduated from the Faculty of Law, the University of Tokyo, and received a Master of Laws degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.


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