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VI. TRADE DISPUTES AND CONSULTATIONS
1. Ingeneral, Mauritius favours theresolution ofpotential trade disputes through diplomatic
channels. Should informal consultations notresult inamutually satisfactory solution, Mauritius would
consider WTO consultation anddispute settlement procedures asanalternative.
(1) GATT/WTO Dispute Settlement
2. Todate,MauritiushasnotbeeninvolvedinconsultationsordisputesunderGATTArticlesXXII
orXXIII, norunder theWTO Understanding onRules andProcedures Governing theSettlement of
Disputes (Annex 2oftheMarrakesh Agreement). Since Mauritius isneither asignatory toanyof
theTokyo Round Agreements nortotheMultifibre Arrangement, notrade consultations ordisputes
under these Agreements havetaken place.
(2) Other Fora
3. Theregional tradeagreements towhich Mauritius isapartyinclude provisions forconsultation,
conciliation anddispute settlement. Under theACP-EEC Cooperation Agreement, disputes concerning
theinterpretation orapplication oftheLomé Convention maybereferred totheCouncil ofMinisters
established under theConvention (Article 352). Ifnosolution isfound, theCouncil mayinitiate an
arbitration procedure withthree arbitrators.
4. According totheauthorities, tradeissues dealing withexports oftuna, canned tunaandcertain
textile products havebeendiscussed attheleveloftheACPSecretariat. TheEUhasrecently proposed
toincrease theannual quota forcanned tunafrom Mauritius, under derogation, from 500to1,000
tonnes.
5. Article 40oftheTreaty establishing thePreferential Trade AreaforEastern andSouthern Africa
(PTA) states thatintheevent offailure tosettle disputes bilaterally, the"matter maybereferred to
theTribunal byaParty andthedecision oftheTribunal shallbefinal". Inanimprovement overthe
PTATreaty, theCOMESA Treaty makes specific provisions forperiodic monitoring ofmember States '
obligations, establishes aCourt ofJustice tosettle disputes andempowers theCOMESA Authority
tometeoutsanctions.
6. TheCOMESA Court ofJustice iscomposed ofseven Judges appointed bytheAuthority of
theCOMESA, i.e.theHeads ofStateorGovernment ofthemember countries.1TheCourt iscompetent
toadjudicate onallissues surrounding theinterpretation andapplication oftheTreaty, which maybe
referred toitbyamember State, theSecretary-General, andanylegalornatural person residing in
amember State.2Decisions oftheCourt, which takeprecedence overnational court rulings, arefinal
andcannot beappealed. Iftheyarenotproperly implemented, theCourt mayspecify appropriate
sanctions (Article 34).
7. Moreover, theCOMESA Authority mayimpose sanctions onmember States thatfailtoadhere
totheirobligations under theTreaty orwhose conduct is"prejudicial totheexistence ortheattainment
1TheCOMESA Authority meets atleast once ayear; itsdecisions aremade byconsensus.
2However, legal andnatural persons would firstneed toexhaust theremedies available under national
legislation.Mauritius WT/TPR/S/5
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oftheobjectives oftheCommon Market" (Article 171). Thesanctions mayinclude thesuspension
ofrights orprivileges under theTreaty, theimposition ofafinancial levy, aswellasthetemporary
suspension ortermination ofmembership.
8. Most ofthebilateral agreements towhich Mauritius isaparty include consultation provisions;
sofar,Mauritius hasnottaken recourse tothese procedures.Mauritius WT/TPR/S/5
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