CIEL welcomes the decision by the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization to open to the public the hearing on appeal in the latest stage of the Hormones cases.

 

This is the first time that an Appellate Body hearing will be open to the public, and this is an important step forward toward the type of transparency that should occur at the WTO. The Appellate Body's oral hearing on these disputes will be held on July 28 and 29, 2008 at the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland. The public will be able to observe the hearing through a closed-circuit broadcast into a public observation room.

CIEL has consistently advocated for transparency and accountability as essential elements of international dispute settlement. CIEL has also proposed to open WTO hearings via webcast, in order to eliminate the administrative and security difficulties associated to a separate public observation room, as well as to allow the press and the public outside Geneva to witness the hearings.

Additional Resources:

• Registration begins for public observation of the Appellate Body oral hearing in the appeals in US / Canada — Continued Suspension of Obligations in the EC — Hormones Dispute (complainant EC) on 28-29 July 2008 in Geneva.

• Press Release of the European Union

• 30 July 2008 Announcement: CIEL attends first open WTO Appellate Body hearing in the famous Hormones dispute

 

For more information, please contact:

• Marcos Orellana, +1 202 742 5847, morellana@ciel.org