For years now, the multilateral system for the settlement of trade dispute has been under intense scrutiny and constant criticism. The U.S. has systematically blocked the appointment of new Appellate Body members and de facto impeded the work of the WTO appeal mechanism. With only four working members out of seven normally serving office in July 2018, the institution is under great stress. If no appointment is made, it will simply be destroyed by December 2019, with only one remaining member to tackle a massive number of disputes that are also increasingly hypertechnical. Importantly, the Appellate Body requires a core of three members to decide a dispute. Criticism against the dispute settlement system is not the monopoly of the U.S. Other WTO members are expressing concerns over the politicisation of the Appellate Body appointment and reappointment process and the quasi-attribution of permanent Appellate Body seats to the U.S. and the European Union There is concern that China may be on its way to having a permanent seat. But the main critique of the U.S. relates to overreaching or judicial activism. The WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding stresses that the dispute panels cannot add to or diminish the rights and obligations provided for by the WTO agreements. The U.S. has relentlessly attacked the practice of some Appellate Body members continuing to hear cases which have been assigned to them during their tenure. However, the U.S. has to be blamed for this situation. With no fresh filling up of vacancies and reappointment of members whose terms are expiring, Washington is deliberately pushing the WTO legal mechanism to the brink. It is more than evident that the U.S. is not willing to be judged by an independent multilateral quasi-judicial institution. One needs to bear in mind that the WTO dispute settlement mechanism is not a world trade court. The process remains political and diplomatic. The very existence of an appeal mechanism is now paradoxically questioned at a time the global community criticises the absence of the same mechanism in Investor-State Dispute Settlement. Solutions are proposed to ease the work of a congested body from the establishment of committees to arbitration, but the roots of the problems are not seriously addressed. Since 2013, a Chinese-style garden welcomes the visitor to the WTO. As always with China, the metaphor illustrates a profound reality and is not short of pragmatism. Beijing might well be the new WTO leader and China's growing assertiveness may be the reason for the U.S. hard posturing. Since its accession to the Organisation.