Appellate Body's future could depend on whether its director keeps his job

The future of Appellate Body reform at the World Trade Organization likely lies with the fate of its director of nearly 15 years -- a powerful but divisive bureaucrat who is seen by some as a committed public servant safeguarding the institution and by others as a dictatorial workaholic who wields improper influence over appellate rulings. Werner Zdouc, the Austrian-born secretariat director since 2006, has many detractors and supporters, and few in between. He is widely considered to have guided...