WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/DS135/7
7 July 2000
(00-2836)
Original:  English
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – MEASURES AFFECTING ASBESTOS
AND PRODUCTS CONTAINING ASBESTOS
Communication from the Chairman of the Panel
The following communication, dated 28 June 2000 and addressed to the Dispute Settlement
Body, is circulated in accordance with Article 12.9 of the DSU.
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On behalf of the aforementioned Panel, I woul d like to address the following communication
to the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB).
Article 12.8 of the DSU stipulates that the period in which a panel shall conduct its
examination, from the date that the composition and terms of reference of the panel have been agreed
upon until the date the final report is issued to the parties shall, as a general rule, not exceed six
months.  Pursuant to Article 12.9 of the DSU, when a panel considers that it cannot issue its report
within six months, it shall inform the DSB in wri ting of the reasons for the delay together with an
estimate of the period within which it will issue its report.
The Panel on "European Communities – Measures Affecting Asbestos and Products
Containing Asbestos" was established by the DSB on 25 November 1998, and its composition and
terms of reference were determined on 29 March 1999.  In a letter dated 22 September 1999, the
Panel informed the DSB that it was not able to comp lete its work within the six months provided for
in the DSU and expected to finalize its report by March 2000 (WT/DS135/5).  In a letter dated
3 March 2000, the Panel indicated that it intended to finalize its report in June 2000 (WT/DS135/6).The Panel now wishes to inform you that it intends to issue its final report to the parties in July 2000.
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