RESTRICTED
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE PC/IPL/W/14
FOR THE 25November 1994
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
(94-2559)
SUB-COMMITTEE ONINSTITUTIONAL ,
PROCEDURAL AND LEGAL MATTERS
OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS INTHE WTO1
Draft criteria andconditions
Thefollowing draftguidelines hadbeenintended tobeannexed totherules ofprocedure for
theMinisterial Conference andtheGeneral Council, ascontained indocument PC/IPL/9. Atitsmeeting
on18November, theSub-Committee didnotapprove these guidelines, andagreed thattheybe
transmitted, asabasis forfuture work, totheWTO 'sGeneral Council (PC/IPL/M/9, itemA(ii)).
_________
1. Thepurpose ofobserver status forinternational intergovernmental organizations (hereinafter
referred toas"organizations") intheWTO istoenable theseorganizations tofollow discussions therein
onmatters ofdirect interest tothem.
2. Requests forobserver status shallaccordingly beconsidered from organizations which have
competence andadirect interest intrade policy matters, orwhich, pursuant toparagraph V:1ofthe
WTO Agreement, haveresponsibilities related tothose oftheWTO.
3. Requests forobserver status shallbemade inwriting totheWTO body inwhich suchstatus
issought, andshallindicate thenature ofthework oftheorganization andthereasons foritsinterest
inbeing accorded suchstatus. Requests forobserver status from organizations shallnot,however,
beconsidered formeetings oftheCommittee onBudget, Finance andAdministration [oroftheDispute
Settlement Body].
4. Requests forobserver status shallbeconsidered onacase-by-case basis byeachWTO body
towhich sucharequest isaddressed, taking intoaccount suchfactors asthenature ofwork ofthe
organization concerned, thenature ofitsmembership, thenumber ofWTO Members inthe
organization, reciprocity withrespect toaccess toproceedings, documents andother aspects of
observership, andwhether theorganization hasbeen associated inthepastwiththework ofthe
CONTRACTING PARTIES toGATT 1947.
./.
1These guidelines shall apply alsotoother organizations referred tobyname intheWTO Agreement.PC/IPL/W/14
Page2
5. Inaddition toorganizations thatrequest, andaregranted, observer status, other organizations
mayattend meetings oftheMinisterial Conference, theGeneral Council orsubsidiary bodies onthe
specific invitation oftheMinisterial Conference, theGeneral Council orthesubsidiary bodyconcerned,
asthecasemaybe.Invitations mayalsobeextended, asappropriate andonacase-by-case basis, to
specific organizations tofollow particular issues within abody inanobserver capacity.
6. Organizations withwhich theWTO hasentered intoaformal arrangement forcooperation
andconsultation shall beaccorded observer status insuchbodies asmaybedetermined bythat
arrangement.
7. Organizations accorded observer status inaparticular WTO body shallnotautomatically be
accorded suchstatus inother WTO bodies.
8. Representatives oforganizations accorded observer status maybeinvited tospeak atmeetings
ofthebodies towhich theyareobservers normally afterMembers ofthatbody havespoken. The
righttospeak doesnotinclude therighttocirculate papers ortomake proposals, unless anorganization
isspecifically invited todoso,nortoparticipate indecision-making.
9. Observer organizations shallreceive copies ofthemain WTO documents series andofother
documents series relating tothework ofthesubsidiary bodies which theyattend asobservers. They
mayreceive suchadditional documents asmaybespecified bytheterms ofanyformal arrangements
forcooperation between them andtheWTO.
10. Ifforanyone-year period afterthedateofthegrant ofobserver status, there hasbeenno
attendance bytheobserver organization, suchstatus shallcease. Inthecaseofsessions oftheMinisterial
Conference, thisperiod shallbetwoyears.