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At the request of the Director-General, Deputy Director-General Alejandro Jara initiated in 2010 a process of informal consultations with WTO Members, panelists, trade law practitioners and Secretariat experts involved in the WTO dispute settlement system with a view to exploring whether it is possible to find efficiency gains in the panel process so as to reduce the burden on Members and the Secretariat. His overriding approach was that any improvements would have to be consistent with existing rules and that changes could be contemplated only if they did not involve amending the DSU. Any adjustments would also have to be effected without undermining the excellent reputation and high quality output of the system.
It is anticipated that ideas brought forward by Members and others in the context of these consultations, such as agreed page limits for executive summaries, time limits for oral argument, and panel hearings following two exchanges of written submissions instead of one such exchange, will be implemented by individual panels on an ad hoc basis, with the agreement of the disputing parties in the particular case.
DDG Jara’s continuing consultations are complemented by efforts within the Secretariat to more generally promote harmonized practices in respect of panel proceedings. |
> DDG Jara reports on consultations to enhance efficiency of panels
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