 
     PRESS RELEASE 
 
PRESS/390 
6 December 2004 
 
(04-5356) 
10TH ANNIVERSARY 
Academic Groups to host conferences commemorating 
establishment of WTO Appellate Body 
A series of regional conferences commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the WTO Dispute 
Settlement System and the establishment of the A ppellate Body will be hosted by a number of 
academic institutions in 2005 and 2006 
 These institutions, all of which are affiliated with members of the Appellate Body, plan to focus the 
conferences on current dispute settlement issues and the Appellate Body’s contribution to this 
system. Participants will include current and form er Appellate Body Members, senior government 
representatives, WTO Secretariat officials, academ ics, journalists, students, and members of civil 
society. 
 Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi will give the keynote address at the first conference in this 
series and former Director-General Renato Ru ggiero will give the inaugural address. This 
conference will take place at Stresa, Italy, 11-13 March 2005 and will be organized by the Research Centre on International Economic Organisations of the Universities of Piemonte 
Orientale, Torino, Genova, Milano, and Bocconi. Mr. Giorgio Sacerdoti, Professor of Bocconi 
University and a Member of the Appellate Body , is on the conference steering committee.  
 
The second conference will be held in São Paulo, Brazil, 15-17 May 2005. It is being organized by 
the Brazilian Institute of International Trade Law and Development in cooperation with  the 
University of São Paulo (Law School/International Law Department) and the Administrative 
Institute Foundation. Mr. Luiz Olavo Baptista, Professor at the University of São Paulo Law School 
and a Member of the Appellate Body, is on the conference steering committee.  
The third conference will be held at the United  Nations University in Tokyo, Japan, 25-27 October 
2005. It is being organized by Tokyo Keizai University with the support of governmental and semi-governmental agencies. The WTO Research Center of Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo and t
he 
Institute for International Studies and Training will also participate in the project. Mr. Yasuhei 
Taniguchi, Professor at Tokyo Keizai University and a Member of the Appellate Body, is a member of the conference steering committee, which is coordinated by the Fair Trade Center. 
 
Other conferences will be held later in 2005 and in  early 2006 in Cairo, Sydney and New York City. 
 
Updated information on the series of conferences and on each event will be made available on a 
regular basis. Registration procedures will be posted as they become available.   PRESS/390 
Page 2 of 2 
 
 Further information about the Stresa conference, including an up-to-date programme, may be 
found at www.stresawtoat10.org. 
 For additional information on any of the planne d conferences contact Judy Cowell by email at 
judy.cowell@wto.org. 
  
 
 
END 