SPECIAL SESSION OF THE Dispute Settlement Body
Report by
the Chairman, Ambassador Kokou Yackoley Johnson,
to the Trade Negotiations Committee
1 Introduction
1.1. This report, which I submit under my own responsibility and without
prejudice to Members' positions, provides an overview of the work of the
Dispute Settlement Body in Special Session (DSB-SS) since I was elected as
Chair in July 2019.
2 Ongoing work
2.1. Following my election in July 2019, I held informal bilateral
meetings with interested delegations with a view to hearing their views on the
way forward as well as their expectations in the context of the DSU
negotiations. I also held an informal open-ended meeting in November 2019 to
report on these consultations and to provide an opportunity to all Members to
express their views on the work of the DSB-SS.
2.2. At the November 2019 meeting, I reported that the delegations I had met
with expressed support for the work of the DSB-SS. At the same time, concern had
been expressed that resuming intensive work in the Special Sessions may not be
fruitful at that time, as the attention of Members was focused on more pressing
issues relating to the overall functioning of the dispute settlement system
and preparations for the Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12), which was
originally scheduled to take place from 8 to 11 June 2020, but was postponed
due to the COVID‑19 pandemic.
2.3. In light of the views generally expressed by Members, I informed participants
that I did not intend to hold any further meetings for the time being, and that
I remained available to meet with any delegation wishing to discuss any issues
relating to the work of the DSB-SS. I have, since then, reported to the TNC
that I remain available to delegations wishing to discuss the work in the
DSB-SS.
3 Looking ahead
3.1. The circumstances around the work of the DSB-SS remain largely unchanged
since my last report to the TNC in July 2021. As I reported at the time, my
understanding remains that delegations consider that discussing clarifications
and improvements to the DSU in the context of the DSB-SS is unlikely to be
productive at this moment, while issues with the overall functioning of the
dispute settlement system, as they have arisen from the debate around the
functioning of the Appellate Body, remain to be resolved. I am aware that
these issues are the subject of consultations in the context of preparations
for MC12. While I am very conscious that this context may make it difficult to
take forward substantive work in the DSB-SS at the current time, I continue to
be guided by Members, and of course remain available to hear the views any
Member may have in regard to the work within the DSB-SS.