Professor Baptista “was a remarkable adjudicator and legal scholar,” DG Azevêdo said.  “He made immense contributions to the field of international arbitration. He will be missed by the WTO community.”

Professor Baptista was appointed as a member of the Appellate Body in 2001 for four years and was reappointed for a second four-year term in 2005, serving until the end of his term in 2009. He was the first national of Brazil to be appointed as Appellate Body member and served as Chair of the Appellate Body in 2007-2008.

Luiz Olavo Baptista was also Professor of International Trade Law at the University of São Paulo Law School, a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague and a  member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Institute for International Trade Practices and of its Commission on Trade and Investment Policy. In addition, he was one of the arbitrators designated under Mercosur's Protocol of Brasilia since 1993.

The Appellate Body was established in 1995 as a standing body that hears appeals from reports issued by panels in disputes brought by WTO members. Twenty-seven men and women have served as Appellate Body members since its creation.

More information on the Appellate Body is available here.