Australia – Certain Measures concerning Trademarks,
geographical indications and other Plain Packaging Requirements
Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging

Communication from the Panel

The following communication, dated 29 June 2016, was received from the Chairperson of the Panel with the request that it be circulated to the Dispute Settlement Body.

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Article 12.8 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) provides that the period in which a panel shall conduct its examination, from the date that the composition and terms of reference of the panel have been agreed upon until the date the final report is issued to the parties to the dispute, shall, as a general rule, not exceed six months.

Article 12.9 of the DSU provides that, when a panel considers that it cannot issue its report within six months, it shall inform the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in writing accordingly and indicate the reasons, together with an estimate of the period within which it will issue its report.

The Panel in Australia – Certain Measures Concerning Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Other Plain Packaging Requirements Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging (WT/DS467) was established by the DSB on 26 March 2014 and composed on 5 May 2014.

On 10 October 2014, the Panel communicated to the DSB that it "expect[ed] to issue its final report to the parties not before the first half of 2016".

The Panel wishes to advise that it now expects to issue its final report to the parties not before the end of 2016, in light of the complexity of the legal and factual issues that arise in this dispute.

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