Mr Van den Bossche, of the European Union, was re-appointed to serve a second term of four years commencing on 12 December 2013. He was appointed to serve his first four-year term commencing on 12 December 2009.

The appointment was made according to Article 17.3 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) which stipulates that the Appellate Body shall “comprise persons of recognized authority, with demonstrated expertise in law, international trade and the subject matter of the WTO agreements generally.” The DSU also requires that the Appellate Body membership be broadly representative of the WTO membership.

Mr Ramírez-Hernández will serve as Chair from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2014, having been re-elected to serve a second term as Chair of the Appellate Body. He served his first term as Chair from 1 January to 31 December 2013.

The Appellate Body is composed of seven members who elect the Chair of the Appellate Body. An Appellate Body Chair cannot serve for more than two consecutive terms.

The Appellate Body hears appeals from dispute settlement panel reports on issues of law covered in the panel report and legal interpretations developed by the panel. Three members of the Appellate Body hear and determine any one appeal. The Appellate Body can uphold, modify or reverse the legal findings and conclusions of a panel. Appellate Body reports are adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body, and unconditionally accepted by the parties to the dispute, unless there is a consensus against adoption. Since its establishment in November 1995, the Appellate Body has issued 119 reports and every report has been adopted.

 

Biographical note — Peter Van den Bossche

(Belgium) (2009-2017)

Born in Belgium on 31 March 1959, Peter Van den Bossche is Professor of International Economic Law at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, and Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. Mr Van den Bossche is a member of the Board of Editors of the Journal of International Economic Law.

Mr Van den Bossche holds a Doctorate in Law from the European University Institute in Florence, an LL.M. from the University of Michigan Law School, and a Licence en Droit magna cum laude from the University of Antwerp. From 1990 to 1992, he served as a référendaire of Advocate General W. van Gerven at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. From 1997 to 2001, Mr Van den Bossche was Counsellor and subsequently Acting Director of the WTO Appellate Body Secretariat. In 2001, he returned to academia and from 2002 to 2009 frequently acted as a consultant to international organisations and developing countries on issues of international economic law. He also served and serves on the faculty of the World Trade Institute in Berne, Switzerland; the China-EU School of Law (CESL) at the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) in Beijing, China; the IELPO Programme of the University of Barcelona, Spain; the Trade Policy Training Centre in Africa (trapca) in Arusha, Tanzania; the IEEM Academy of International Trade and Investment Law in Macau, China; and the Koç University Law School in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mr Van den Bossche has published extensively in the field of international economic law. The third edition of his textbook The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization was published by Cambridge University Press in 2013.

 

Biographical note — Ricardo Ramírez Hernández

(Mexico) (2009-2017)

Born in Mexico on 17 October 1968, Ricardo Ramírez-Hernández holds the Chair of International Trade Law at the Mexican National University (UNAM) in Mexico City. He was Head of the International Trade Practice for Latin America of an international law firm in Mexico City. His practice focused on issues related to NAFTA and trade across Latin America, including international trade dispute resolution.

Prior to practicing with a law firm, Mr Ramírez-Hernández was Deputy General Counsel for Trade Negotiations of the Ministry of Economy in Mexico for more than a decade. In this capacity, he provided advice on trade and competition policy matters related to 11 free trade agreements signed by Mexico, as well as with respect to multilateral agreements, including those related to the WTO, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI).

Mr Ramírez-Hernández also represented Mexico in international trade litigation and investment arbitration proceedings. He acted as lead counsel to the Mexican government in several WTO disputes. He has also served on NAFTA panels and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitral tribunals.

Mr Ramírez-Hernández holds an LL.M. degree in International Business Law from the American University Washington College of Law, and a law degree from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana.