 
. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/BFA/W/118 
25 June 2004 
 (04-2739) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
  
 
 
APPELLATE BODY MEMBERS 
 
 
1. At its meeting on 1 April 2004, the Committee continued examination of a letter from the 
former Chairman of the Appellate Body (WT/BFA/ W/109) with regard to a possible adjustment of 
compensation provided to Appellate Body Member s.  At that meeting, “a number of Members 
indicated, without prejudice to the position which th eir capitals might take, that the possibility of 
adjusting for inflation might be taken into consideration.” (WT/BFA/72, paragraph 22)  
 
2. On 10 February 1995, the Dispute Settlement  Body approved recommendations by the 
Preparatory Committee for the WTO regarding the establishment of the Appellate Body (WT/DSB/1).  Paragraph 12 of the referenced document states “… it w ould appear that the retainer should be set at a 
minimum of SF 7,000 per month, plus a fully-adequate  daily fee, travel expenses and a per diem.”  
 
3. The compensation package implemented at  that time consisted of the following
1: 
 
a. Retainer fee:  CHF 7,000 per month; 
b. Daily fee for days worked: CHF 600; and 
c. Allowance for administrative expenses: CHF 300 per month. 
 
4. The Statistics Office of the Canton of Geneva (O ffice cantonal de la statistique) has reported 
the following percentage variations in th e Geneva consumer price index as follows: 
 
December 1995: 1.9% December 1996: 0.7% December 1997: 1.2% 
December 1998: (0.1%) 
December 1999: 1.7% December 2000: 1.4% December 2001: 0.6% December 2002: 1.0% 
December 2003: 0.9% 
Jan-May 2004:  1.8%
 
  Total 11.1%  
                                                      
1 These amounts continue to be applied at the present time. WT/BFA/W/118 
Page 2  
 
  
5. If the above-mentioned rates of inflation were a pplied to the compensation elements noted in 
paragraph 3 above, the results would be: 
 
a. Retainer fee:  CHF 7,777 per month; 
b. Daily fee for days worked: CHF 667;  and 
c. Allowance for administrative expenses: CHF 333 per month. 
 
6. The financial implications of these adjustments on an annual basis would be as follows: 
 
a. Retainer fee: 12 months for 7 Members at an additional CHF 777:  CHF 65,268 ; 
b. Daily fee: (based on average number of days worked 1997-2003 – 1,175 days): 
additional CHF 67 per day:  CHF 78,725 ; 
c. Administrative allowance: 12 months fo r 7 Members at an additional CHF 33 per 
month: CHF 2,772 . 
 
 
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