Mr Ramírez-Hernández will serve as chair from 1 January 2013 to 30 June 2013, succeeding Ms Yuejiao Zhang, whose term as chair will end on 31 December 2012.

The Appellate Body is composed of seven members who are appointed by the Dispute Settlement Body to serve for four-year terms, with the possibility of being reappointed once.

Mr Ramírez-Hernández's term of office started on 1 July 2009 and will end on 30 June 2013.