Technical Expertise Fund

The ACWL has a Technical Expertise Trust Fund on which it can draw to finance part of the costs of technical expertise needed by a party to a WTO dispute settlement proceeding.The Fund is mainly intended to pay for experts in fact-intensive dispute settlement proceedings such as those involving the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) or the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement).

In accordance with a decision of the Management Board, this Fund may also be accessed for the purposes of preparing a legal opinion for a Member.

The Fund is financed by voluntary contributions of developed country Members. To date, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have contributed to the Technical Expertise Fund.