Negotiating rules and principles

The negotiations of the Doha Round are conducted on the basis of the Doha Declaration adopted by Ministers on 14 November 2001 at the Doha Ministerial Conference. As discussed above, the Declaration sets out the mandate and objectives of the negotiations and their institutional structure. In the paragraphs 45 to 52, members further agreed on basic rules and principles regarding the organization and conduct of the negotiations. These include the Single Undertaking[35], and guidelines on transparency and effective participation of all members. Further to these principles, the Trade Negotiations Committee adopted rules of procedures for the conduct of the meetings of the TNC and the negotiating bodies.

Rules

The Chairperson of the General Council stated that the ТTNC should follow the GC rules of procedures mutatis mutandis У [36]. These procedural rules of the GC can be found in WT/L/161 as amended on 25 July 1996. They consist of 39 rules regarding, inter alia, the appointment of chairpersons, decision making, agenda setting, participation of delegations, and the establishment of the list of speakers. Below is a summary discussion of some of these rules.

Agenda-setting

Meetings of the negotiating bodies and the TNC are convened by the DG. The convening notice has to be circulated to all members at least 10 days prior to the meeting. A preliminary list of agenda items is submitted to the members together with the notice. All members have the right to Тsuggest items for inclusion in the proposed agenda up to [Й] the day on which the notice of the meeting is to be issued.У (Chapter VII, Rule 3). The notice of the meeting is to be issued two days prior to the meeting and should at that stage contain the proposed agenda.

Proposal making

Every delegation has the right to make proposals and amendments to proposals during the meetings of the negotiating bodies and the TNC. Proposals should normally be made in writing prior to the meeting at which the proposal will be discussed (at least 12 hours) so that the proposal can be circulated to all members. The meeting then decides about the order and priority given to the discussion and decision with regard to the proposals.

Seating arrangements and identification

WTO members are seated in alphabetical order in English. Countries are identified by engraved nameplates with the official name of the country in English.

The following Regional Groups have requested to be seated next to each other:

б ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam

б European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland

б Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU): Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland

б Mercosur: Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay

б European Union[37]: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

List of speakers

The chairperson grants the right to speak to the representatives. Delegates wishing to make a statement or respond to statements made by other delegations or questions raised by the chairperson, lift the nameplate to an upright position until the chairperson gives them the floor for the statement. The chairperson establishes a list of speakers and closes this list. He or she can also limit the time given to a statement, and give the right of reply to specific interventions or after the closure of the list to specific representatives.

Decision-making

Decision-making at the WTO follows the GATT practice of decision by consensus. This applies to all the three institutional levels of the WTO - the MC, the GC, and subsidiary councils - as well as the TNC and the negotiating bodies set up by it (Chapter VII of the GC rules).

Consensus does not mean that there is unanimity. It rather Т signifies that no delegation physically present in the body has a fundamental objection on an issueУ. [38] The consensus approach has its advantages and its challenges. Reaching decisions by consensus among more than 150 members can be difficult and time-consuming. Decisions can only be adopted if unopposed. In combination with the Single Undertaking principle, the consensus approach carries a great risk that the negotiating process can be blocked over a single issue. On the other hand, consensus-based decisions gives equal power to all members and a negotiated outcome adopted by consensus may reflect the most acceptable outcome to the entire membership, and consequently has good chances of being implemented.

Other procedural rules

The formal meetings are open to all members and observers of the WTO and, upon the invitation of the GC, accredited external observers. Members are represented by accredited representatives and can decide at which level they would like to attend the meetings - head of delegation level, ministerial level, or technical level.

Most of the meetings are private although the membership can take the decision to hold a meeting or a part of a meeting in public. Meeting reports are to be issued in all three working languages.

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