Right of integration and dispute resolution mechanism: MERCOSUR-ALADI

The Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) was consolidated with the entry into force of the Treaty of Asunción signed on March 26, 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. In commercial terms, MERCOSUR aims to achieve a Common Market that implies, according to article 1: - The free circulation of goods, services and productive factors between countries, through, among others, the elimination of customs duties and non-tariff restrictions on the circulation of goods and any other equivalent measure; - The establishment of a common external tariff and the adoption of a common commercial policy in relation to third States or groups of States and the coordination of positions in regional and international economic and sectoral forums; - The coordination of macroeconomic and sectoral policies between the Member States: foreign trade, agricultural, industrial, fiscal, monetary, exchange and capital, services, customs, transport and communications and others that are agreed upon, in order to ensure adequate conditions of competition between the Member States; - The commitment of the States Parties to harmonize their legislation in the relevant areas, in order to strengthen the integration process. According to the Treaty's preamble, these trade objectives have as their main orientation the expansion of the current dimensions of their national markets, through integration, a fundamental condition to accelerate their processes of economic development with social justice. To develop these objectives, MERCOSUR has created various bodies throughout its existence. The so-called dispute resolution mechanism, created by the Brasilia Protocol of 1991, is part of this integration process. The main function of this mechanism is to provide the States with the necessary legal tools so that they can resolve disputes that may arise between them peacefully, through arbitration and by impartial third parties, the arbitrators. Initially, the arbitration system was eminently ad hoc, that is, created to resolve the specific case, but after the entry into force of the Olivos Protocol in 2002, the Permanent Review Court was created with headquarters in the City of Asunción in the Republic of Paraguay. The regulations of the aforementioned Olivos Protocol approved by MERCOSUR/CMC/DEC. No. 37/03, in its art. 5, determines that the TPR will have a Secretariat (ST) whose primary objective is to provide support to arbitrators in the resolution of disputes and Advisory Opinions. Notwithstanding this main function, the ST has also been developing since its creation various academic activities and dissemination of the dispute resolution system in MERCOSUR, through talks, conferences, seminars, technical visits, where hundreds of students from various university courses have participated and the biannual publication of the Journal of the Secretariat of the Permanent Review Tribunal RSTPR. On this occasion, the ST is creating a training course in Integration Law with emphasis on the dispute resolution mechanism that aims to provide a training tool that allows those interested to deepen or complement their knowledge regarding the subject matter raised. In addition, it is presented as a possibility of disseminating MERCOSUR law, as well as its dispute resolution system. This module aims to be introductory, indicating, in the first part, the basic elements that will serve to introduce us to the central axis of the course, which is the dispute resolution mechanism developed in MERCOSUR. To this end, some basic notions related to regional integration processes are addressed and the main characteristics of the various schemes and forms of integration are mentioned. Once this brief mention has been made, we move on to mention certain milestones in the evolution of the multilateral trade system and its compatibility with the integration processes, previously explained. Finally, an approach is made to the dispute or difference resolution mechanism in the WTO, whose characteristics are similar, in certain aspects, to the mechanism adopted by MERCOSUR.