Indonesia - Importation of Horticultural Products, Animals and Animal Products - Communication from the Appellate Body

INDONESIA – IMPORTATION OF HORTICULTURAL PRODUCTS,
ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS
COMMUNICATION FROM THE APPELLATE BODY
The following communication, dated 13 April 2017, from the Chair of the Appellate Body to the
Chair of the Dispute Settlement Body, is being circulated to Members.
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I am writing to you pursuant to Article 17.5 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing
the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), which stipulates that, as a general rule, the Appellate Body will
circulate its Report no later than 60 days after the appellant has formally notified the Dispute
Settlement Body (DSB) of its decision to appeal. Article 17.5 states, furthermore, that when the
Appellate Body considers that it cannot provide its Report within 60 days, it shall inform the DSB in
writing of the reasons for the delay together with an estimate of the period within which it will submit
its Report.
Indonesia notified the DSB on 17 February 2017 of its decision to appeal certain issues of law
covered in the Panel Report and legal interpretations developed by the Panel in this case, with the
result that the 60-day period expires on Tuesday, 18 April 2017. Due to the time required to hear
and decide this appeal, the Appellate Body is not able to circulate its Report by this date.
The Appellate Body faces a substantially enhanced workload in 2017, with several appeals
proceeding in parallel, and there is overlap in the composition of the Divisions hearing the different
appeals. Due to the scheduling issues arising from these circumstances, the number and
complexity of the issues raised in this and concurrent appellate proceedings, together with the
demands that these concurrent appeals place on the WTO Secretariat's translation services, and
shortage of staff in the Appellate Body Secretariat, the Appellate Body will not be able to circulate its
Report in this dispute within the 90-day timeframe provided for in Article 17.5 of the DSU.
The circulation date of the Appellate Body Report in this appeal will be communicated to the
participants and third participants after the oral hearing.
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