Milestones of the ACWL
Inauguration of the ACWL (Press Release), 5 October 2001
The Advisory Centre on WTO Law will be formally inaugurated on 5 October 2001 at 3:30 p.m. in the Centre William Rappard, 154, rue de Lausanne, Geneva. The speakers will be the Ministers of Trade of Colombia (Marta Lucía Ramirez de Rincón) and of the Netherlands (Gerrit Ybema), the Director-General of the WTO (Mike Moore), the Chairperson of the Appellate Body (Claus-Dieter Ehlermann), the Executive Director of the Centre (Frieder Roessler) and the Chairperson of the Management Board (Said El-Naggar). Professor John Jackson of the Georgetown University will deliver a key note address. All WTO Members as well as interested academics, WTO officials, law firms, non-governmental organisations and the press have been invited to attend.
The Centre is an international organisation independent of the WTO which was established to provide legal training, support and advice on the law of the WTO to developing countries, in particular to the least developed among them, and to countries with economies in transition. The Centre may under certain circumstances also finance legal assistance and technical expertise provided by outside sources. A proper balance of rights and obligations under WTO law can only be maintained if all WTO Members have a full understanding of their WTO rights and obligations and an equal opportunity to resort to the WTO dispute settlement procedures. Therefore, the Centre will make vital contribution to the rule of law in international trade and the credibility of the multilateral trading system.
The Agreement establishing the Centre entered into force on 15 July 2001 and the constituent meeting of its General Assembly was held on 17 July 2001. Of the thirty-two signatories of this Agreement, nine are developed countries, twenty-two developing countries and one economy in transition. The forty countries designated by the United Nations as least developed countries are entitled to the services of the Centre without having to accept the Agreement establishing the Centre. Membership of the Centre remains open to all WTO Members and States or customs territories in the process of accession to the WTO. Jordan will be the first country to accede to the Agreement establishing the Centre. Once all signatories have completed their domestic approval procedures and Jordan has acceded, there will be altogether fifty-four Members of the WTO that will be entitled to the services of the Centre.
The General Assembly appointed at its constituent meeting the members of the Centre’s Management Board, which is responsible for the effective and efficient operation of the Centre. The Management Board appointed Frieder Roessler as Executive Director. Mr. Roessler was previously Director of the Legal Affairs Division of the GATT and the WTO and taught international economic law at various universities. The Centre is currently located at Chemin Louis-Dunant 19 next to the new office of the World Bank in Geneva. In July 2002, the Centre will move to new premises in the business centre “Les Nations” (Avenue Giuseppe Motta 31-37) presently under construction. Even though the Centre is still in its start-up phase, its Members have already requested its services in four WTO dispute settlement cases.
At present the staff of the Centre is planned to consist of the Executive Director, four lawyers, one office manager and one secretary. The office manager has already been hired. Recruitment of three lawyers is currently underway. The capacity of the Centre will be expanded in response to the demand for its services.
Photo legend (From left to right):
Dr. Said El-Naggar, former Member of the WTO Appellate Body
Mr. Mike Moore, Director-General of the WTO
H.E. Mrs. Marta Lucía Ramírez de Rincón, Minister for Foreign Trade, Colombia
Mr. Otto Th. Genee, Chairperson of the General Assembly of the ACWL
H.E. Mr. Gerrit Ybema, Minister for Foreign Trade, The Netherlands
Mr. Frieder Roessler, Executive Director of the ACWL
Professor John Jackson, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, Chairman of the WTO A