Séminaire sur les règles d'accession à l'OMC<

Background

A training Seminar on WTO Accessions Rules will take place from 4 to 15 February 2019 in Geneva. The Course is a "Level 2" specialized training activity implemented within the WTO progressive learning framework⁽¹⁾ and it represents the second level of learning among WTO training activities. The objectives of the Seminar are to:

1. Review the accession acquis on Accession Protocols;
2. Provide in-depth explanations of the WTO legal disciplines at issue in each section of a Working Party Report (which also generally mirrors the structure of a Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime);
3. Familiarize participants with accession-specific documents that relate to certain WTO disciplines and that acceding Governments must complete, e.g. TBT Checklist, TRIPS Questionnaire, and Legislative Action Plans which summarize how acceding governments will develop WTO-consistent legal regimes;
4. Enhance the participants' knowledge of the content of recurring/typical commitment paragraphs contained in Article XII Members' Working Party Reports and how they relate to the legal disciplines at issue in those sections;
5. Prepare the participants for negotiations with Members concerning such commitment paragraphs;
6. Provide training on treaty interpretation, i.e. how commitment paragraphs are interpreted in the dispute settlement context; and
7. Expose the participants to Panel and Appellate Body Reports interpreting commitment paragraphs in Accession Protocols.

This Seminar will be delivered through a mix of lectures, interactive exercises, case-studies, and peer learning.

Programme

Please find attached the latest programme and presentations.

Notes:

1. For further details about the WTO Progressive Learning Strategy, see the Biennial Technical Assistance and Training Plan 2018-2019 (WT/COMTD/W/227/Rev.1).  The TA Plan can also be accessed at here. back to text