RESTRICTED
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE PC/IPL/M/6
FOR THE 21October 1994
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
(94-2135)
SUB-COMMITTEE ONINSTITUTIONAL ,
PROCEDURAL AND LEGAL MATTERS
MINUTES OFTHE MEETING HELD ON7OCTOBER 1994
1. TheSub-Committee onInstitutional, Procedural andLegal Matters helditssixth meeting on
7October 1994 under theChairmanship ofMr.K.Kesavapany (Singapore).
A. Paragraph 8(b)(ii) oftheDecision establishing thePreparatory Committee
(i) Terms ofreference forWTO bodies
2. TheChairman saiditwashisunderstanding thatthework onterms ofreference fortheWTO
Committees onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions, onBudget, Finance andAdministration andonTrade
andDevelopment being undertaken intheexisting GATT Committees onthese matters wasalmost
complete, andthatproposed terms ofreference would besubmitted totheSub-Committee soonfor
consideration.
3. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthisinformation.
4. TheChairman, turning toterms ofreference fortheWTO Committee onAgriculture, said
thatagreement onthefollowing texthadbeenreached intheContact Group onAgriculture: "The
Committee shalloversee theimplementation oftheAgreement onAgriculture. TheCommittee shall
afford members theopportunity ofconsulting onanymatter relating totheimplementation ofthe
provisions oftheAgreement."
5. Therepresentative ofAustralia saidthatthequestion ofterms ofreference fortheAgriculture
Committee should havebeenresolved during thecourse oftheUruguay Round negotiations because
seeking toresolve thisissue more recently hadledtoconcerns onthepartofsome thatefforts were
being made toreopen thenegotiations ortoexpand thescope oftheAgriculture Agreement. However,
these concerns hadbeendispelled through consultations, andagreement hadnowbeenreached onthe
textreadoutbytheChairman. Thattextdealtwiththeambiguities thatwould havebeenleftunresolved
hadprecise terms ofreference notbeenagreed to,andbuilttheconfidence ofallparticipants inthis
Agreement thatthework oftheAgriculture Committee would getofftoagood andpractical start.
6. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities expressed satisfaction attheagreement on
thistextandattheoverall spirit thathadprevailed incoming tothisagreement. Hehoped thatthe
confidence referred tobyAustralia would continue toevolve inthemonths tocome when the
Agriculture Agreement wasputintoeffect.
7. TherepresentativeofJapanwelcomedandsupportedAustralia'sstatement.Ontheunderstanding
thattheterms ofreference didnotreopen thenegotiations normodify inanywaythetextofthe
Agriculture Agreement, hisdelegation joined intheconsensus.PC/IPL/M/6
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8. Therepresentative ofEgypt saidthatwhile hisdelegation welcomed theconsensus onthetext
asreadoutbytheChairman, itwished topropose asmall amendment thereto suchthatthelastpart
ofthefirstsentence would read: "...theimplementation oftheprovisions oftheAgreement on
Agriculture andrelated Decisions", andinthesecond sentence thewords "theprovisions ofthe
Agreement" would bereplaced with"these provisions". Hisdelegation believed thatthiswasaminor
amendment which would make theterms ofreference clearer, andnoted thatthe"related" Ministerial
Decision wasreferred toinArticle 16oftheAgriculture Agreement.
9. TheChairman asked whether Australia, which hadtaken theleadonthisissue, wished to
comment onEgypt 'sproposal.
10. Therepresentative ofAustralia saidthattheChairman hadgiven theContact Group on
Agriculture theresponsibility forreaching anagreement onthisissue, andthattheContact Group had
reached agreement onthetextreadoutearlier bytheChairman.
11. TheChairman asked whether Egypt considered theamendment ithadproposed tobeabsolutely
necessary.
12. Therepresentative ofEgypt saidthathisdelegation didnotwishtoblock anyconsensus on
thetextthathadalready beenapproved intheContact Group. However, while hisdelegation would
notpress fortheaddition ofthewords "andrelated Decisions" attheendofthefirstsentence, itwould
wishtoseeareference inthatsentence totheimplementation ofthe"provisions" oftheAgreement
onAgriculture.
13. Therepresentative ofArgentina saidthatthere hadbeenample opportunity, forallcountries
thatsowished, toparticipate inthediscussion onterms ofreference fortheAgriculture Committee.
Fifty-six countries, including Egypt, hadbeeninvited toameeting oftheContact Group thedaybefore,
atwhich consensus hadbeenreached onthetextreadoutbytheChairman. Formany delegations,
andparticularly hisown, thisconsensus hadinvolved extremely important sacrifices. Hisdelegation
could nottherefore accept anyamendment tothetext. However, iftheChairman sowished, debate
onthismatter might besuspended forashort while toallow hisdelegation, together withsome others,
todiscuss thismatter withEgypt informally.
14. TheChairman saidhehoped thematter could beresolved without having tosuspend the
discussion. Inhisview, "theAgreement onAgriculture" attheendofthefirstsentence clearly covered
alltheprovisions oftheAgreement, anditwould therefore beredundant tosay"provisions ofthe
Agreement". Accordingly, hewould urgeEgypt toreconsider itsproposal.
15. Therepresentative ofEgypt saidthatthemeeting oftheContact Group atwhich consensus
onthistexthadapparently beenreached hadlasted onlytenminutes, andherdelegation hadnothad
thechance toattend. Herdelegation believed thatadding "theprovisions oftheAgreement on
Agriculture andrelated Ministerial Decisions" would make itclearer thattheDecision regarding net
food-importing countries, ofwhich hercountry wasone,wasincorporated intheterms ofreference.
Theword "provisions" wasintended asareference toArticle 16oftheAgriculture Agreement, which
required theCommittee tomonitor thefollow-up totheMinisterial Decision onnetfoodimporting
countries.
16. The Chairman said thattheterm "the Agreement" was intended torefer tothe
Agriculture Agreement asawhole, including Article 16thereof, which itselfreferred tothefollow-up
totheDecision onnetfood-importing countries. Hecould nottherefore seetheneedforaspecific
reference tobemade.PC/IPL/M/6
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17. Therepresentative ofMorocco saidthatEgypt hadraised animportant point asregards
netfood-importing countries. Inhisunderstanding, theMinisterial Decision concerning net
food-importing developing countries wasanintegral partoftheAgriculture Agreement. Ifconfirmation
ofthisinterpretation weretobegiven, thetextasreadoutbytheChairman should clearly beacceptable.
18. TheChairman saidhecould confirm that,forthepurposes oftheterms ofreference, the
Ministerial Decision wasanintegral partoftheAgreement onAgriculture interms ofArticle 16thereof.
19. Therepresentative ofKorea saidthathisdelegation joined intheconsensus ontheterms of
reference ontheunderstanding thatthese didnotinanywayleadtothereopening ofthenegotiations
ontheAgriculture Agreement.
20. Therepresentative ofPerusaidthat,asawayoutoftheimpasse, theChairman 'sinterpretation,
which implied thattheAgriculture Committee would alsodeal with theDecision involving
netfood-importingcountriesamongstotherdecisions,couldbeformallyreflectedintheSub-Committee's
decision onthismatter, without inanywaychanging theterms ofreference themselves.
21. TheChairman asked whether Egypt would beprepared tojointheconsensus ontheproposed
textifheweretobeplaced onrecord asconfirming thattheterm"Agreement onAgriculture" inthe
textincluded theprovisions ofArticle 16oftheAgriculture Agreement.
22. Therepresentative ofEgypt replied intheaffirmative.
23. TheChairman proposed thattheterms ofreference fortheWTO Agriculture Committee be
approved asfollows, andthathebeplaced onrecord asconfirming that"theAgreement onAgriculture"
referred tointheterms ofreference included theprovisions ofArticle 16oftheAgriculture Agreement:
"The Committee shalloversee theimplementation oftheAgreement onAgriculture. TheCommittee
shallafford members theopportunity ofconsulting onanymatter relating totheimplementation of
theprovisions oftheAgreement." (PC/IPL/1).
24. TheSub-Committee soagreed andtooknoteofthestatements.
25. TheChairman recalled thatatthe26September meeting oftheSub-Committee, theCommunity
hadmade reference toapossible WTO Market Access Committee. Itwashisunderstanding thatthe
Community wished toaddress thismatter atthepresent meeting.
26. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities recalled thatatthe26September meeting,
hisdelegation hadsuggested thattheGATT Committee onTariff Concessions andtheTechnical Group
onQuantitative Restrictions andotherNon-Tariff Measures should bemerged intheWTO intoaMarket
Access Committee. Inthecourse ofthatmeeting, andinbilateral contacts withseveral delegations,
thegeneral reaction hadbeenpositive. Inorder toexpedite theSub-Committee 'swork, hisdelegation
believed thatitwould beuseful topropose terms ofreference forthenewCommittee onthebasis of
those forthetwoexisting GATT bodies. Atextproposed bytheCommunity hadonlyrecently been
circulated, informally andinEnglish, tomembers oftheSub-Committee. Therefore, while thismeeting
wasprobably nottheappropriate timetodiscuss thisproposal, hisdelegation stood ready toanswer
anyquestions orprovide anyfurther information onthismatter.
27. TheChairman saidthatsincethetextwasonlyavailable inEnglish atpresent, hewould request
theSecretariat tohaveittranslated intotheother languages anddistributed. Delegations would then
havesufficient timetoconsider theproposal andperhaps todiscuss insmall groups. Itcould then
betaken upatthenextmeeting oftheSub-Committee.PC/IPL/M/6
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28. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthestatement.
29. TheChairman, turning tothequestion oftheContact Groups, recalled thattheContact Group
onTRIPS hadagreed that,asafirststep,theSecretariat would prepare achecklist ofpossible areas
ofcooperation between theWTO andWIPO, notably inregard tothenotification ofnational legislations.
Inthisregard, theSecretariat hadbeenrequested toseekinformal contacts withtheWIPO Secretariat
toassist inthepreparation ofthispaper, onthebasis ofwhich theContact Group would discuss the
question ofcooperation between thetwoorganizations, following which consultations would beinitiated
withWIPO, asforeseen intheTRIPS Agreement. AttheContact Group 'ssecond meeting on
23September, strong support hadagain beenexpressed forestablishing close andmutually supportive
relations withWIPO, andthere waswidespread satisfaction withtheinitial contacts which heandthe
SecretariathadhadwiththeWIPODirector-GeneraloftheWIPOandhisstaff.Apreliminarydiscussion
hadbeenheldonthebasis oftheresulting papers prepared bytheSecretariat, andithadbeenagreed
thatWIPO representatives should beinvited asobservers atthenextmeeting oftheContact Group,
ontheunderstanding thatthiswould notruleoutthepossibility oftheContact Group alsomeeting
without thepresence ofobservers ifsodesired. Inaccordance withthewishes oftheGroup, hehad
conveyed aninvitation totheWIPO Director-General tosendrepresentatives tothenextmeeting of
theContact Group.
30. TheContact Group hadalsohadapreliminary discussion onsome ideas onhowconsultations
between thetwoorganizations might beorganized. Inthisregard, theWIPO Director-General had
informally raised withhimthepossible establishment ofaninformal jointconsultative group opento
anyMember ofeither ofthetwoorganizations andjointly serviced bythetwoSecretariats. Thisissue
hadbeendiscussed atlength intheContact Group, andtheconclusion hadbeenthattheissueofjoint
consultations between thetwoorganizations should belooked atcarefully, andthatitwould bepremature
toembark onanysuchmove atthisstage. Acopyofhisletter totheWIPO Director-General onthis
matter hadbeencirculated toallmembers oftheContact Group.
31. Theissue ofrelations withtheWTO hasalsobeentaken upbyWIPO during thecourse of
itsGoverning Bodies meetings which hadended earlier intheweek, andatwhich theGATT hadbeen
present asanobserver. TheGoverning Bodies haddeclared thattheWIPO alsodesired theestablishment
ofamutually supportive relationship between theWTO anditself. Tothisend,theyhadagreed to
setupanadhocworking group open toallmembers ofWIPO withthemandate ofadvising and
cooperating withitsDirector-General inhiscontacts withthecompetent organs ofGATT/WTO,
discussing matters concerning possible cooperation between thetwoorganizations, andconsidering
theestablishment ofanadhocinformal jointconsultation group onallmatters concerning possible
cooperation. While WIPO hadtaken certain steps inthisregard, theviewintheContact Group was
thatthisshould begiven dueconsideration andadecision taken atanappropriate time.
32. Mr.Lundby (Norway), Coordinator oftheContact Group onAnti-dumping, Subsidies and
Safeguards, saidthattheContact Group 'staskwastodiscuss matters onwhich decisions would have
tobetaken before theentry intoforce oftheAgreements oneachofthese subjects soastoensure
thesmooth operation thereof. TheGroup hadheldtwomeetings recently, andhadscheduled twomore
for11and27October respectively, inconjunction withtheregular meeting oftheSubsidies Committee.
TheGroup 'swork thusfarhasconcentrated onnotifications of"green subsidies" withaview to
identifying necessary elements togointoanotification format, aswellasathorough consideration
ofthequestion oftherightbalance between sufficient detail, ontheonehand, andworkability onthe
other. Onemore meeting would bedevoted tothisexercise, afterwhich theSecretariat would produce
afirstdraftforapossible format. TheContact Group would alsotackle laterother priority issues
under theSubsidies Agreement, bothconcerning notifications andprocedures forarbitration, pursuant
toArticle 8:5.Depending onthetimeavailable, issues would alsobeaddressed under theSafeguardsPC/IPL/M/6
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andAnti-dumping Agreements where itwould bepreferable tomake decisions prior totheentry into
force oftheWTO.
33. Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatinthetwoprevious meetings oftheAgriculture
Contact Group, theUnited States andseveral other countries hadraised theissue ofreporting by
state-trading enterprises. Theywereconcerned thatwithout proper transparency, itwould beimpossible
toverify compliance bystate-trading enterprises with theexport subsidy disciplines inthe
Agriculture Agreement. TheUnderstanding ontheInterpretation ofArticle XVIIintheUruguay Round
Agreementalreadycontainedenhancedreportingrequirementsforstate-tradingenterprisesandestablished
aworking party toreview notifications andcounter-notifications onstate-trading activities. Several
countries hadsuggested thattheSub-Committee would bethemoreappropriate forum inwhich topursue
theirinterests, andtheUnited States agreed because state-trading wasnotanissueonlyintheAgriculture
sector. TheUnited States believed thattheguidelines onreporting thatwere referred tointhe
Understanding werebroad enough toaddress itsconcerns. However, itwished toseekgreater precision
intheguidelines particularly inrespect toprice reporting. Itwasessential toprovide forproper
monitoring oftheactivities ofstate-trading enterprises, anissuewhich would become evermorecritical
inthefuture withtheaccession totheWTO ofcountries thatmade extensive useofstate-trading.
TheUnited States believed thatthistypeofprecision would benecessary verysoonafterthedateof
entry intoforce oftheWTO Agreement andthattheworking party established under theWTO
Agreement would greatly benefit fromapreparatory discussion. TheUnited States therefore requested
thattheChairman asktheContact Group intheRules areatotakeupthisissue atanearly date,and
wished toseeathorough discussion inthatforum ofnotification procedures, notification formats and
thefunctioning oftheworking party onstate-trading.
34. Therepresentative ofCanada saidhisdelegation believed thattheprocedures laiddown in
theUnderstanding onArticle XVII weresufficient, anddidnotseethenecessity ofreviewing, prior
totheentry intoforce oftheWTO, whatwasanalready adequate procedure. Theterms ofreference
fortheworking party onstate-trading werebroad enough toundertake athorough review ofallexisting
notification obligations ofMembers under theAgreements inAnnex 1AoftheWTO Agreement, with
aviewtosimplifying, standardizing andconsolidating theseobligations tothegreatest extent practicable
aswellastoimproving compliance andtransparency. Canada therefore didnotseethenecessity to
raisethisissue inaContact Group when thatContact Group hadmore thanenough todoatpresent.
35. Therepresentative ofArgentina supported theUnited States 'proposal. Argentina believed
thatprogress should bemade ondeveloping detailed guidelines onthevarious aspects ofthe
Understanding onArticle XVII.
36. Therepresentative ofJapan supported theUnited States 'proposal.
37. TherepresentativeofAustraliasaidthathisdelegationsawnodifficultyinhavingthenotification
procedures under theUnderstanding onArticle XVII discussed andkeptunder constant review.
However, astheUnited States haditselfstated, theUnderstanding provided foritsowninternal review
procedures toexamine theeffectiveness andacceptability ofthenotification arrangements spelled out
therein. There wasalsoaseparate Ministerial Decision onNotification Procedures which would keep
allthenotification procedures under theMultilateral Trade Agreements oftheWTO under review.
Inthiscontext, onehadtokeepinmind thattheSub-Committee hadalotofwork todoinavery
short time. Australia shared theviewofmany others thattheSub-Committee should focus onwork
thatwasrequired tobecompleted inorder tobring theWTO andtheMultilateral Trade Agreements
intoproper effect. Australia believed thatclear procedures hadbeen provided forthereview of
notification procedures under Article XVII totakeplace aftertheWTO came intoeffect, andcould
notseewhatmore needed tobedonebefore then.PC/IPL/M/6
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38. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthattheUnited States 'proposal merited
consideration.
39. TheChairman noted thatthemajority ofthestatements supported thediscussion ofthismatter
intheContact Group intheRules area, andasked whether Canada wished toreconsider itsposition
inlightofthis.
40. Therepresentative ofCanada saidhisdelegation maintained thattheUnderstanding on
Article XVII andtheMinisterial Decision onNotification Procedures were entirely adequate tothe
needs thathadbeenidentified bytheUnited States. Canada could notseewhatpurpose would beserved
bydiscussing thismatter atthepresent timewhen aworking party review process would come into
effect following theentry intoforce oftheWTO.
41. TheChairman suggested thattheSub-Committee revert tothismatter atalaterdate. Inthe
meantime, hewould holdconsultations withtheUnited States andCanada.
42. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthestatements.
(ii) Rules ofprocedure forWTO bodies
43. TheChairman recalled thatatthe26September meeting oftheSub-Committee, delegations
hadbeeninvited tosubmit inputs inwriting concerning thedraftRules fortheMinisterial Conference
andtheGeneral Council, respectively. Ashehadindicated atthatmeeting, inlightofthecontributions
received, consideration would begiven astotheneedforthesetting upofadrafting committee. The
Secretariat waspresently checking withtherespective delegations thathadsubmitted proposals with
aviewtoresolving possible conflicts inthevarious submissions, andhoped tobeabletoproduce revised
drafttextsthefollowing week. Inlightofthis,hedidnotbelieve therewasaneedtosetupadrafting
group atthisstage, andsuggested thattherevised drafttextsbeconsidered atthenextmeeting ofthe
Sub-Committee withaview tocompleting work onthispartofitsmandate. Meanwhile, ifother
delegations wished tocontribute tothisprocess, theywere invited todoso.
44. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthestatements.
B. Paragraph 8(b)(iii) oftheDecision establishing thePreparatory Committee
(i) Arrangements foreffective cooperation withother inter-governmental organizations
45. TheChairman saidthathewished toleave thequestion oftheWTO 'srelations withtheUN
toasubsequent meeting, ifnecessary. Astorelations withtheIMFandtheWorld Bank, herecalled
thatataninformal meeting oftheSub-Committee heldthedaybefore, theDirector-General hadreported
onhispreliminary contacts withtheHeads oftheIMFandtheWorld Bank. Atthatmeeting, the
Secretariat hadbeenrequested toprepare apaper identifying thearrangements thatwould havetobe
putintoplace withthese organizations by1January 1995. Itwashisunderstanding thatthispaper
would bemade available inabout tendays. There hadbeenasuggestion thatoncethepaper wasready,
arepresentative oftheCONTRACTING PARTIES together withaSecretariat official could visitthose
organizations todiscuss thepoints raised inthepaper. Depending ontheresults, andfollowing further
consultations, workondrafttextual arrangements could thencommence. Asregards functional relations
withother organizations thathadbeenmentioned atprevious meetings oftheSub-Committee, hewould
welcome inputs from delegations.
46. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthestatement.PC/IPL/M/6
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(ii) Observer status forinternational organizations
47. TheChairman suggested thattheSecretariat revise document 2035onthebasisofthediscussion
atthe26September meeting andanyothersuggestions thatdelegations might wishtomake atthepresent
meeting. TheSub-Committee would alsoneedtoconsider separate guidelines forobserver status for
governments, based onthose thatwerepresently followed bytheCONTRACTING PARTIES tothe
GATT 1947. Ataminimum, some adaptation ofthelanguage ofthose guidelines would beneeded
tomake themapplicable totheWTO. Bothsetsofguidelines would beneeded tocomplete theRules
ofProcedure currently envisaged fortheMinisterial Conference andtheGeneral Council.
48. Therepresentative ofCanada saidthathisdelegation hadcomments tomake ontheguidelines
indocument 2035, andwould submit them inwriting totheSecretariat soasnottotakeupthetime
oftheSub-Committee.
49. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthestatements.
C. Transitional Arrangements
50. TheChairman underlined theimportance andurgency ofreaching agreement onthetypeof
arrangements thatwould beneeded asthiswasanareaonwhich thePreparatory Committee would
havetomake arecommendation totheSpecial Session oftheCONTRACTING PARTIES tothe
GATT 1947 attheImplementation Conference. Hewascontinuing hisplurilateral contacts onthis
matter andintended tocontinue thisprocess inthefollowing weeks.
51. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthestatement.
D. Paragraph 8(c)(iv) oftheDecision establishing thePreparatory Committee
(Composition oftheTextiles Monitoring Body)
52. TheChairman recalled thatatitsmeeting on26September, theSub-Committee hadestablished
aContact Group onTextiles. Hehadindicated atthatmeeting thathewould undertake consultations
onthechairmanship oftheGroup. Following these consultations, heannounced that
Mr.M.Al-Fattah (Egypt) hadagreed toserve asChairman.
53. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthisinformation.
E. Arrangements forthereview procedures under theAgreement onPreshipment Inspection
54. TheChairman drew attention toabackground notebytheSecretariat ontheimplementation
ofArticle4oftheAgreementonPreshipmentInspection(PC/IPL/W/8).Asthatnoteindicated,Article4
oftheAgreement onPreshipment Inspection (PSI) foresaw arolefortwoprivate organizations
representing, respectively, PSIentities andexporters, although theAgreement designated nospecific
organizations forthispurpose. However, asallwereaware, during thenegotiations ontheAgreement,
theInternational Federation ofInspection Agencies (IFIA) andtheInternational Chamber of
Commerce (ICC) hadindicated theirwillingness toundertake theseresponsibilities fortheforeseeable
future. Thishadbeenaccepted bythenegotiators although ithadnotbeenformalized. TheIFIAand
ICCwere actively engaged inpreparations forthesetting upoftheindependent entity thatwould
administer thereview procedures. Itwould, therefore, seem necessary toformalize thearrangement
insome way, forexample, inanexchange ofletters between these organizations andtheWTO, andPC/IPL/M/6
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todosoassoonaspossible given thattheindependent entity should beoperational from theentry
intoforce oftheWTO Agreement.
55. Theindependent entity wasestablished under theterms ofArticle 4oftheAgreement, and
would enjoy thesame privileges andimmunities asthose enjoyed byother WTO bodies byvirtue of
Article VIIIoftheWTO Agreement. Given thespecial caseofthisentity, asitwasconstituted by
private organisations, itappeared appropriate toconfirm thisalsoinanexchange ofletters between
theWTO ontheonehandandtheICCandIFIAontheother. Hewished tonotethatconfirmation
oftheindependent entity 'sstatus under theWTO hadnobudgetary implications fortheWTO. The
ICCandIFIA hadaccepted, during thenegotiations, thewishes ofparticipants that,inviewofthe
general expectation thatthecase-load oftheindependent entity would notbeverygreat, theentity
should befinanced jointly bytheICCandIFIAandthatthesituation could bereviewed afteratrial
period oftwoyears; accordingly, theICCandIFIA were proceeding withpreparations forthe
implementationoftheindependentreviewprocedures.InconformitywithArticle4(g)oftheAgreement,
independent review panels would apportion thecosts ofanindependent review among theparties to
adispute based onthemerits ofthecase. Inlightoftheabove, heproposed thattheSub-Committee
request theSecretariat, inconsultation withinterested delegations andwiththeIFIAandICC,toprepare
adraftproposal forformalizing, inwriting, thestatus oftheICC, theIFIAandtheindependent entity
forconsideration bytheSub-Committee.
56. Therepresentative ofCanada saidthatdelegations hadonlyrecently received thenotebythe
Secretariat. Inview ofthefactthattheindependent entity would enjoy thesame privileges and
immunities asenjoyed byother WTO bodies, thedraftproposal tobeprepared bytheSecretariat should
specify where thisapplied.
57. TheChairman acknowledged thatthismatter hadonlyrecently beenbrought totheattention
ofMembers, andsaidthatiftheywished togiveitfurther consideration, theywould befreetodo
so.However, hehadwanted tosettheprocess inmotion atthismeeting. Hewascertain thatthe
Secretariat, inconducting consultations, would consult withasmany interested delegations aspossible.
58. Therepresentative ofJapan indicated hisdelegation 'sinterest inthismatter, particularly on
thequestion ofprivileges andimmunities. Japan believed thattheindependent entity wassomething
different from what wascovered under Article VIIIoftheWTO Agreement, andwished tohavea
fuller discussion onthismatter.
59. TheChairman saidthatoncetheSecretariat hadcompleted itsconsultations, thedraftproposal
resulting therefrom would bebrought totheSub-Committee foritsconsideration. Afuller discussion
could beheldatthattime.
60. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthestatements andagreed thattheSecretariat berequested,
inconsultation withinterested delegations andwiththeIFIAandICC, toprepare adraftproposal for
formalizing, inwriting, thestatus oftheICC, theIFIAandtheindependent entity, forconsideration
bytheSub-Committee.
F. Issues relating totheStanding Appellate Body
61. TheChairman saidthathewished todraw attention tosome issues relating totheStanding
Appellate Body thattheSub-Committee would havetoaddress soon. While itwastruethattherewould
besome timebefore theAppellate Body wascalled intoaction under theWTO, certain issues required
attention nowinorder fornecessary decisions, forexample onbudgetary implications, tobetaken
thisyear. These issues related, interalia,totheprofile oftheseven persons tobeappointed toservePC/IPL/M/6
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onthisBody -namely, whether theywould bepurely jurists orjurists withaknowledge oftrade
matters -,whether theyshould beappointed onapermanent oronapart-time basis, where theyshould
belocated -whether inGeneva ornot,andifinGeneva, whether inthesame building asthe
Secretariat -andthetypeandamount ofsupport stafftheyshould beprovided with. Hewished simply
toraisethese issues atthepresent meeting andtohavedelegations reflect onthem. Hewould intend
torevert tothem atthenextmeeting oftheSub-Committee.
62. Therepresentative ofNorway, speaking onbehalf oftheNordic countries, supported the
Chairman 'sraising ofthisissue. Depending onthequality andthelevelofpersons tobeappointed
totheAppellate Body, itwould notbesimply aquestion ofselecting thesepersons, butalsoaquestion
oftheirfreeing themselves fromother commitments, which might takesome time. Itwould therefore
bebesttoaddress thismatter sooner rather thanlater. Astotheprofile oftheappointees, thiswas
more orlessprovided inArticle 17:3oftheDispute Settlement Understanding, which alsostipulated
thatthese persons should be"available atalltimes andatshort notice". Astotheirindependence,
theNordic countries 'preliminary viewwasthattheAppellate Body should notbeserviced bythesame
persons thatserviced thepanel onaparticular dispute.
63. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthestatements.