Head of WTO Reform Efforts Urges Practicality, Flexibility Ahead of Last 2024 General Council Meeting
The facilitator of the World Trade Organization dispute settlement reform talks told members at a Nov. 21 heads of delegation meeting to be "practical and flexible" in ramping up negotiations, the WTO said. With just two weeks to go before the final General Council meeting of 2024, Usha Dwarka-Canabady urged members to stay focused on restoring the dispute settlement system's functionality and not on creating a new system with "more onerous obligations."
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Dwarka-Canabady of Marutius said that since the delegation's meeting last month, experts have been meeting daily to address three areas: "appeal/review, accessibility, and 'works done thus far.'" She said a report has been sent to members that identifies the progress achieved on these three concepts, members' observations and the status of the negotiations.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' Joel Richards reported on the progress achieved on the appeal/review and accessibility issues. He said "substantive progress has been made on some sub-topics," noting that members are drafting text on the scope of review, reducing or changing incentives to appeal, and clarifying members' expectations of adjudicators.
However, members remain "far apart" on access to the appeal mechanism, the form of the mechanism and the standard of review, Richards said.
Regarding accessibility, the U.K.'s David Stranger-Jones said a "zero draft" text has been created on "capacity building and technical assistance," the WTO said. A workshop took place to discuss two papers on a proposed dispute settlement fund model and a litigation cost reimbursement model.