RESTRICTED 
WORLD TRADE WT/BFA/IS 
L/7662 
ORGANIZATION 22 January 1996 
Limited Distribution 
(96-0189) 
REPORT OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON BUDGET. 
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION 
INTRODUCTION 
1. The Joint WTO/GATT Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration met at the Centre 
William Rappard, Geneva, on 18 December 1995. 
2. The Committee was chaired by Mr. J.-M. Metzger of France. The terms of reference and 
composition of the Committee are set out in documents L/5964/Rev.9 of 20 March 1995 and 
WT/L/44 of 23 February 1995. 
3. The Agenda for the meeting contained in document WTO/AIR/236 - GATT/AIR/3713 was 
adopted. 
A. GRANTING OF PERMANENT CONTRACTS TO ICITO STAFF 
CRP(95)58 
4. The Chairman recalled that during the informal meeting of 11 December 1995, the Director-
General had indicated his intention to lift the suspension of the granting of permanent contracts to 
ICITO staff which had been imposed in 1992 due to the uncertainty surrounding the Uruguay Round. 
At the request of the Members, the Director-General's statement and the document CRP(95)58 
providing some figures and information concerning the proposal were distributed on 
12 December 1995 to all the Members. 
5. The Director-General took the floor to address some substantive points related to the issue: 
(i) the legality of his proposed course of action to grant permanent contracts to staff members who 
were qualified for such appointments under the existing rules; (ii) the linkage between the 
transformation of contracts and the tripartite decision on the transition from ICITO/GATT to the 
WTO, and the package of staff conditions of service; and (iii) the human aspect. 
6. Concerning (i), UN Staff Rules 104.12 and 104.13 stipulated that the completion of five years 
of continuous service on fixed-term appointments and the securing of the highest standards of 
efficiency, competence and integrity were the main requirements and criteria for the granting of 
permanent contracts. As stated in the Transfer Agreement, until such time as a complete set of WTO 
Staff Regulations and Rules had been adopted, the existing Regulations and Rules continued to apply 
in their entirety. The Director-General said that he would consider granting permanent contracts only 
to those fixed-term staff who fulfilled the requirements stipulated in these Regulations and Rules. He 
also stressed that there would be no additional financial obligations for the Members. 
./. WT/BFA/18 
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7. As to (ii), in the view of the Director-General, a link should not be made between the 
transformation of contracts and the tripartite decision on the transition from ICITO/GATT to the 
WTO, and the package of staff conditions of service, because the latter were still under discussion. 
The granting of permanent contracts to staff members under the existing rules merited consideration 
on its own. The suspension of the rules-based practice of granting permanent contracts in 1992 had 
been imposed due to exceptional circumstances. However, those circumstances had changed 
materially. 
8. With regard to (iii) the Director-General stressed the importance of the human aspect of the 
issue and the need for the contractual situation to provide the staff members concerned with the 
necessary security to allow them to plan their life and make the best decisions in this respect. 
9. The majority of Members thanked the Director-General for taking the initiative to consult with 
the Committee on the issue and indicated their strong support for his proposed course of action. 
Other Members showed hesitation about the proposal and preferred to wait until the WTO Staff 
Regulations and Rules were finalised; alternatively, the WTO Regulations should be adopted now so 
that the provisions therein regarding regular contracts could be applied. All Members agreed that the 
Director-General's proposed course of action was entirely within his prerogative under the rules. 
10. With regard to enquiries concerning the financial liabilities of termination of posts, the 
Secretariat indicated that an indemnity was payable only if a contract, fixed-term or permanent, was 
interrupted. It was the view of the Secretariat that no indemnity was payable to staff members who 
were offered and accepted WTO contracts after termination of their ICITO contracts as a result of the 
establishment of WTO Secretariat. Two Members questioned the granting of permanent contracts to 
so many GS staff at a time when there was concern that there were too many GS staff in relation to 
P staff. One Member suggested that the Director-General might, at the time of granting a permanent 
contract, make it a condition that the staff member in question would not seek an indemnity when 
he/she was offered a WTO contract. 
11. In conclusion, the Chairman summarised the discussion as follows: (i) the Committee 
expressed gratitude for the transparency that the Director-General had manifested on the issue; (ii) 
no Members contested the Director-General's authority for his proposed course of action and a 
climate of confidence should be maintained between the Members and the Secretariat; (iii) the 
Director-General had indicated that no staff member concerned had indicated his/her decision to leave 
the Organisation at the time that he/she would be offered a WTO contract; (iv) the Secretariat's 
clarification on the legal obligations of the WTO in regards to indemnities upon termination of 
contracts was noted; (v) no Members have expressed opposition to the transformation of fixed-term 
contracts to permanent contracts as proposed; (vi) some Members showed a preference for the 
transformation of fixed-term to permanent contracts to take place in the framework of the rules of the 
WTO; and (vii) with the different related elements in mind, and having heard the comments and 
suggestions of the Members, the Director-General would be in a position to take the appropriate 
measures. 
12. The Committee took note of the declarations of the Director-General as well as those of the 
Members and of the conclusion drawn by the Chairman. 
B. OTHER BUSINESS 
13. One Member enquired about the Note for the File dated 25 September 1995 concerning a staff 
member in the International Trade Centre (ITC). The Secretariat clarified the situation indicating that 
the staff member in question had left the service in the ITC and it was the proposal of the Executive 
Director of ITC to issue shortly a vacancy notice for that post. 