south_africa

On 29 March 2017, South Africa and the ACWL signed South Africa’s Protocol of Accession to the Agreement Establishing the ACWL. South Africa becomes the 35th developing country Member of the WTO to join the Advisory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL).

At a ceremony at the ACWL on 3 April to mark the signing, Niall Meagher, Executive Director, welcomed South Africa to the ACWL and expressed his delight that South Africa had completed the process of accession.  He said that the ACWL looked forward to working with South Africa in the future.

On behalf of South Africa, Ambassador Xavier Carim expressed his appreciation that South Africa was now a Member of the ACWL and looked forward to working with the ACWL’s team.

Ms Elsbeth Akkerman and Mr. Marco Tulio Molina, respectively Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the General Assembly, also attended and welcomed South Africa to the ACWL.

All developing countries that are Members of the WTO or are in the process of acceding to the WTO may apply to become Members of the ACWL. The 44 least-developed countries (LDCs) that are Members of the WTO or are in the process of acceding to the WTO are automatically entitled to the services of the ACWL, without having to become Members of the ACWL.

South Africa’s accession to the ACWL formally takes effect 30 days after the signing of the Protocol of Accession.  Following South Africa’s accession, 79 countries*, or just under half of the Members of the WTO – are entitled to turn to the ACWL for advice on WTO law, support in WTO dispute settlement proceedings and legal training.

* Includes separate customs territories.

04 avril 2017

Contact Us

Send us an email and we'll get back to you shortly.

Not readable? Change text. captcha txt