3:30 PM Mar 30, 1995

CONSULTATIONS CONTINUE ON WTO PANELLISTS CODE

Geneva 29 Mar (Chakravarthi Raghavan) -- Consultations among the members of the WTO on the framing of a code of conduct for members of the dispute settlement panels (and those to figure on the roster) and the secretariat staff to service such panels are still continuing and agreement has not been achieved yet, the Dispute Settlement Body was advised Wednesday.

The WTO's Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), requires that the members of its Appellate Body shall be "unaffiliated" with their governments. Panellists are to be well-qualified governmental or non-governmental individuals, including persons who have served on or presented a case to a panel, or served as representatives to the GATT bodies or in the secretariat etc. Panellists are to be selected from (a roster of persons maintained) to ensure their "independence", and with sufficiently diverse background and experience.

While there has been a general consensus in the WTO on need to ensure that panellists (who till now were drawn from GATT delegations) are above reproach and can help establish the integrity in public mind of the WTO's Dispute Settlement System, there has been differences on details.

The United States has spear-headed the demand for a code of conduct for panellists and the secretariat staff servicing panels and dispute settlement, and has also talked of ensuring "transparency" of dispute settlement process and openness to environmental NGOs.

Supported by the European Union, the US has proposed the framing of a code for panellists (and secretariat staff) disclosing their 'interests' that might affect their status in disputes, including provisions to enable parties to challenge at any stage of the proceedings any member's continuance on the body.

Even as these discussions are going on, both the US and EU have been opposing application of same or similar yardstick to the members of the WTO's Textiles Monitoring Body which is charged with the supervision of the implementation of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) and, as a part of this, to look into bilateral disputes and make recommendations for settling them.

The TMB is made up of a Chairman and 10 members. The Countries who are elected to the TMB are required to 'appoint' the members who are to serve on an ad personum basis.

India has proposed in the TMB that persons (delegation members) "appointed" by Members (governments of the individual countries elected by rotation to the body) of the TMB should provide an undertaking about their functioning on the 'ad personum' basis and disclosure of information that might affect their participation.

But the US, EU and some of the other industrialized countries have been opposed to any undertaking about the 'ad personum' membership.

The US and EU, and some of the other industrial countries, under the Multifibre Agreement used to nominate government representatives to the Textile Surveillance Body, with close links to their textiles and clothing industries -- a practice that was also adopted by some of the developing country members.

But the ATC and its TMB requirements are qualitatively different from the MFA and its TSB, a point that India, Pakistan and a few others are stressing to push for an effective TMB.

The US and EU also don't want to introduce into the TMB process the same "transparency" they seek for the WTO dispute settlement process.

The TMB has held two meetings so far, with a full membership only the second time -- Indonesia which represents the Asean constituency, not having notified the name of its 'member' in time for the first meeting.

The ad personum dispute there has not been resolved so far, with the Hong Kong member recently suggesting a compromise of the TMB members collectively committing themselves to their 'ad personum' functioning.

The issue will come up before the next meeting in mid-April.

There is no 'link' set up between decisions on the TMB and the code for the panellists of the DSB, but it undoubtedly weighs with some of the members who have an important stake in textiles and clothing exports.