The Chair of the Dispute Settlement Body, Ambassador Fernando de Mateo y Venturini, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, and the Chair of the Appellate Body, Ricardo Ramírez-Hernández, each congratulated Mr Servansing and welcomed him as a new Appellate Body member. Mr Servansing took the place of former Appellate Body Member David Unterhalter of South Africa, who completed his second term of office as an Appellate Body Member in December 2013.

 

Statement by Ambassador Fernando De Mateo

I would like to welcome you to this afternoon’s ceremony. We will be swearing-in Mr Shree Baboo Chekitan Servansing as a Member of the Appellate Body.

This swearing-in ceremony will include remarks by the Director-General, as well as by the Chair of the Appellate Body, Mr Ricardo Ramírez-Hernández. Following the ceremony, you are all invited to a reception hosted by the Chair of the Appellate Body, the Mission of the Republic of Mauritius, and myself.

Today we welcome Mr Shree Baboo Chekitan Servansing as the newest Member of the Appellate Body. Given the steadily increasing workload in the WTO dispute settlement system, and consequently the increasing strain on the Appellate Body’s current membership, I am sure that this welcome is particularly echoed by Mr Servansing’s colleagues at the Appellate Body.

Mr Servansing’s appointment to the Appellate Body by the DSB followed a rigorous selection process. The Committee based its work on the guidelines, rules and procedures contained in the DSU and in WT/DSB/1 governing the selection and appointment of Appellate Body Members. Having participated in this selection process, I can personally attest to the excellence of all the candidates nominated by seven WTO Members (Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Uganda and Zimbabwe). I can also attest to the challenging task of recommending just one individual from a pool of seven deserving and extremely impressive candidates. The number and quality of the candidates put forward for selection is an encouraging sign of Members’ continuing confidence in the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, and particularly in the function that the Appellate Body serves within this mechanism. On 10 September 2014, the Selection Committee recommended that Mr Shree Baboo Chekitan Servansing be appointed as a member of the Appellate Body for a four-year term. The Membership endorsed this recommendation and appointed Mr Servansing to the Appellate Body at the DSB meeting of 26 September 2014.

Before ceding the floor to the Director-General, I wish to say a few words about Mr Servansing. With his deep knowledge of trade policy, trade negotiations, and the multilateral trading system, Mr Servansing brings to the Appellate Body a layered and unique perspective that will be of great benefit to the deliberations of the Appellate Body. Mr Servansing is equipped with decades-long experience in the fields of international trade, trade and development, public policy and diplomacy. In particular, between 2004 and 2012, Mr Servansing served as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Mauritius to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, including the WTO. In this capacity, he served on various Committees at the WTO, and chaired the Committees on Trade and Environment, and Trade and Development. He also chaired the Work Programme on Small Economies, the dedicated session on Aid-for-Trade, the African Group, and was coordinator of the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Group. His insight, drawn from his hands-on experience in engaging with WTO Members at different levels, and on a variety of issues, will undoubtedly be a valuable addition to the Appellate Body. I had the opportunity of working hand-in-hand with Mr. Servansing for long years and in many different situations. Thus, I am in a privileged position to say that he will be an excellent AB Member, with all the necessary qualifications, and also that he is an excellent human being!

Over the years, the Appellate Body has established itself as a cornerstone of the dispute settlement system of the WTO. Indeed, the Appellate Body is today highly valued by WTO Members, academic institutions and the general public as an efficient and trusted dispute settlement institution. I am confident that this success story will continue given the wealth of experience that Mr Servansing brings to the Appellate Body. Given the large number of panel reports barrelling down the pipeline, something tells me that Mr Servansing, and his wealth of experience and skills, will likely be facing trial by fire sooner rather than later.

I look forward to working with you, Mr Servansing, and with your colleagues in the Appellate Body to further strengthen and develop the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.

 

Statement by DG Azevêdo

Thank you Ambassador de Mateo for that introduction, and for your work both as chair of the Dispute Settlement Body, and also as the chair of the Appellate Body Selection Committee.

I'm pleased to join you in welcoming Mr Shree Baboo Chekitan Servansing, who will shortly be sworn in as the newest Member of the Appellate Body.

It is great to see the Appellate Body's membership restored to seven, following the departure of Mr David Unterhalter in December last year.

And I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Mr Servansing on his appointment.

As Ambassador de Mateo has noted, Mr Servansing has vast knowledge and experience of the WTO disciplines, trade policy, trade negotiations, and the multilateral trading system itself.

His insight and perspective will be extremely valuable as he and his colleagues on the Appellate Body continue to assist WTO Members to resolve disputes in the balanced, impartial, and independent manner that we have grown to expect from the Appellate Body.

I would especially like to thank Mr Servansing for his courage in accepting to join the Appellate Body at a time when the dispute settlement system is facing unprecedented challenges due to its ever-increasing workload.

As I detailed at last month's DSB meeting, the dispute settlement system has undergone a significant evolution since 1995, as a result of Members' growing confidence in the system — and their growing use of it.

And of course this is very welcome. Recourse to the dispute settlement system has ensured adherence to negotiated rules, thereby helping to provide the security and predictability in international trade that is so essential.

To date, the dispute settlement system has handled disputes covering at least US$1 trillion of world trade flows. Two-thirds of the WTO Membership has participated in the system in one way or another.

And the Appellate Body lies at its heart.

Through its prompt settlement of the disputes that have come before it, its rigour in reviewing panel decisions, and its clarification of Members' rights and obligations under the WTO's covered agreements, the Appellate Body has proven its value beyond any doubt.

However, this success comes with a price.

Appellate Body Members are called upon to do more as disputes increase, not just in volume but in complexity as well.

Judging from the number of ongoing panel proceedings, the workload of the Appellate Body is likely to remain high for the foreseeable future.

Therefore, this appointment is very timely. The Appellate Body really can use the help!

The dispute settlement system negotiated in the Uruguay Round was an extraordinary achievement. Today, as it approaches the end of its second decade, it should not be taken for granted.

To ensure that the system continues to function at optimal levels for the benefit of all WTO Members, each of us has a responsibility to contribute to its consolidation and further development.

We must protect, at all times, the system's hallmarks of total independence and impartiality.

Members must use the system wisely, recognising the practical challenges faced by the system as a whole — and they must be willing to work together in addressing them.

And we must keep equipping the system properly, not only in terms of Appellate Body Members and panelists, but also in terms of the secretariat resources that we make available in support.

In closing, Mr Servansing, I want to congratulate you on your appointment once again — and welcome you back to the WTO. 

The system owes a large measure of its success to your colleagues and predecessors — the Appellate Body Members and panellists who have served, and continue to serve, the system with dedication, courage, independence, and integrity.

I have no doubt that you will maintain this tradition.

We wish you all the best in the weeks and months ahead. Good luck and bon courage!

 

Statement by Mr Ricardo Ramírez Hernández

Estas ocasiones normalmente me generan sentimientos encontrados, pues nos despedimos de uno de nuestros colegas y le demos la bienvenida a uno nuevo. Afortunadamente hoy solo tenemos un momento alegre al celebrar el nombramiento del Sr. Servansing como miembro del Órgano de Apelación, puesto que hace ya algunos meses escuchamos el memorable discurso de despedida de David.

Permítanme comenzar por felicitar al Comité de Selección por su extraordinario trabajo. Dada la cantidad de candidatos altamente cualificados, estoy seguro que su tarea no fue fácil. A todos los candidatos y a los gobiernos que los nominaron, les ofrecemos nuestro reconocimiento y apreciación por participar en este proceso.

One of the unique features of the Appellate Body is not only its multicultural but also its multidisciplinary nature. 7 cultures, 7 backgrounds, 7 personalities. The fact that we can look at a problem not only from various angles but also through different lenses allows us to resolve disputes to the best of our collective abilities. As just highlighted by Ambassador de Mateo and the Director-General, Mr Servansing vast experience on trade policy and negotiations will certainly add a valuable perspective to our deliberations. Today, Mr. Servansing’s presence makes our institution wiser and stronger. I am sure that, like all of us, he will embrace collegiality as one of the fundamental pillars of our institution. We look forward to working with you Shree.

We see with great satisfaction that the Appellate Body workload paper circulated last year, has started to pay dividends. We were pleased to hear the DG’s presentation at the September 26th DSB meeting and welcome the allocation by the DG of additional human resources to the Appellate Body along with the allocation to the divisions servicing panels at a time of strongly increasing workload. However, as mentioned in previous messages, there are structural problems which need to be address by the full Membership. In this respect, we are encouraged to see the growing awareness by the Membership of the problems ahead as reflected in their statements at the last DSB meeting. Given the extraordinary challenges the Appellate Body is facing with the growing number and complexity of cases, it will be necessary not only to hire the best legal minds to support us, but also to retain their expertise and experience and to reward them for the extraordinary demands we place on them.

Finally, a short commercial, some practitioners call it the Bible, for us it is just the Repertory that gives you the gist of the more than 120 Appellate Body reports and awards covering the entire period from 1995 through 2013 or, more specifically 14 important Appellate Body reports since the last edition. The new testament — or fifth edition — is a result of the teamwork of the entire Appellate Body Secretariat and will be available today at 30% off during the reception.