  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/DS/W/61 
12 December 2003 
 (03-6565) 
Dispute Settlement Body 
Special Session Original:   English 
 
 
 
CONTRIBUTION FROM INDONESIA AND THAILAND 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 8 December 2003, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of Thailand on be half of Indonesia and Thailand. 
 
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1. Problems 
 Once a panel is established, one cannot deny that qualified pa nelists are mostly welcome.  
The term "qualification" in this sense means a ppropriateness based on educational background and 
experience, taking into account the fact that WTO la w is quite unique in nature, as opposed to general 
international trade law.   For those who have experience in WTO litigation,  there is a possibility that we find it quite 
difficult, particular for developing countries, to hand- pick someone, who, in our view, is best qualified 
to serve as a panelist for our case from the Indicative Li st of Panelists prepared by the Secretariat, or 
any slate of candidates proposed by the Secretaria t, as the case may be.  Even though curriculum vitae 
of candidates could be given, it is not usually available as it is not attached to the List, let alone detail 
as may be required by parties to a dispute in their determination of the composition of a panel.  On top 
of that, we cannot but make judgement on merely what is written on the CV whereas his performance 
is omitted.  
2. Questions 
1. Do we want to facilitate the DG in th e process of appointment of panelists? 
2. Based on statistics shown on page 15 of the Mexican paper, it ta kes approximately 59 days on 
average for panel composition.  Do we want to save as much as possible the time period at this stage, 
during which damage could be lessened? 
3. How many chances are there for panelists whose names are on the above-mentioned List to be 
appointed, or proposed for appointment, as panelists? 
4. Do we need an experienced panelist to serve as a panel chairman?  Isn’t it in our interest to 
have an experienced panelist to sit as chairman? 
5. Do we want to maintain the principle wher e parties to a dispute have control over the 
selection of panelists, on the one ha nd, and the need to expedite th e process of panel composition, on 
the other hand, while having the assurance that at least one of the panelists is selected from a roster of 
qualified experts in WTO jurisprudence? 
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