The Chair of the Dispute Settlement Body, Ambassador Shahid Bashir and WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy both congratulated Mr Chang and welcomed him as a new Appellate Body member. They also thanked the out-going member, Mr Shotaro Oshima who was retiring after four years of dedicated service to the WTO.
  

Note to editors:

The Appellate Body is responsible for hearing appeals of WTO panel reports. It is composed of seven members, each appointed for a four-year term, with a possibility to be reappointed once. The expiration dates of terms are staggered, ensuring that not all members begin and complete their terms at the same time. Members of the Appellate Body must be persons of recognized authority with demonstrated expertise in law, international trade and the subject matter of the covered agreements generally and must not be affiliated with any government. The members of the Appellate Body are appointed by the Dispute Settlement Body. Since its establishment in November 1995, the Appellate Body has issued 114 reports.