WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/509
20 January 2003
(03-0279)
PROCEDURES FOR THE APPOINTMENT
OF DIRECTORS-GENERAL
Adopted by the General Council on 10 December 2002
The General Council, acting pursuant to Articles IV.2, VI.2 and IX.1 of the WTO Agreement,
agrees to the following procedures for the appointment of the Director-General.
Conduct of the appointment process
1. The appointment process shall be guided by the best interests of the Organization, respect for
the dignity of the candidates and the Members nominating them, and by full transparency and
inclusiveness at all stages, building on the best practices established over the past years with regard to
internal transparency and participation of all Members.
2. The overriding objective of Members in this process shall be to reach decisions by consensus.
3. The process leading up to the decision by the General Council to appoint a Director-General
shall be conducted by the Chair of the General Council in consultation with Members and in
accordance with the procedures set out herein.
Facilitators
4. The Chair of the General Council shall be assisted in this process by the Chairs of the Dispute
Settlement Body and the Trade Policy Review Body acting as facilitators.11
5. The Chair and the facilitators shall act impartially and objectively, and conduct their work in
a transparent manner.
6. The Chair and the facilitators shall aim to encourage and facilitate the building of consensus
among Members, and assist them in moving from the initial field of candidates to a final decision onappointment.
Time-frames for the process
7. The appointment process shall start nine months prior to the expiry of the term of an
incumbent Director-General with a notification from  the Chair to the General Council.  The process
shall conclude with a meeting of the General Coun cil convened not later than three months prior to
the expiry of an incumbent's term, at which a decision to appoint a new Director-General shall be
taken.
                                                     
1 If one or more of these Chairpersons is unable to serve as a facilitator, the General Council Chair
shall call upon one or more of the Chairpersons of the three sectoral Councils (Goods Council, Services Council,
TRIPS Council).WT/L/509
Page 2
8. Members shall have one month after the start of the appointment process to nominate
candidates.  Nominations shall be submitted by Members only, and in respect of their own nationals.2
The candidates nominated shall then have three months to make themselves known to Members andto engage in discussions on the pertinent issues facing the Organization.  The remaining two months
prior to the conclusion of this process shall be devoted to selecting and appointing one of thecandidates.
Qualifications of candidates
9. In broad terms, candidates should have extensive experience in international relations,
encompassing economic, trade and/or political experience;  a firm commitment to the work and
objectives of the WTO;  proven leadership and managerial ability;  and demonstrated communications
skills.
Nomination procedure
10. Nominations and supporting information shall be addressed to the Chair of the General
Council and received not later than one month after the start of the process.  These documents will be
distributed to Members as they are received.  Immediately after the close of the nomination period,the Chair shall communicate to Members a consol idated list of the candidatures received.
11. Nominations shall be accompanied by the curriculum vitae of the candidate and any
additional supporting information.
12. Where a serving Director-General decides to seek reappointment, he or she shall so notify the
Chair of the General Council before the start of the process, and shall thereby be considered to be acandidate.  The Chair shall inform Members of the candidature of the incumbent Director-General, in
order that they may take this into consideration in submitting their nominations.
Representativeness of candidates
13. In order to ensure that the best possible candidate is selected to head the WTO at any given
time, candidatures representing the diversity of Me mbers across all regions shall be invited in the
nominations process.  Where Members are faced in the final selection with equally meritorious
candidates, they shall take into consideration as one of the factors the desirability of reflecting the
diversity of the WTO's membership in successive appointments to the post of Director-General.
Meeting with the candidates
14. As early as possible after the close of the one-month nomination period, candidates shall be
invited to meet with Members at a formal General Council meeting.  Candidates will be invited to
make a brief presentation, including their vision for the WTO, to be followed by a question-and-
answer period.
                                                     
2 The term "nationals" as referred to in these pro cedures shall be deemed, in the case of a separate
customs territory Member of the WTO, to refer to individuals who are entitled to the same or similar legal rights
under its laws and regulations , including the right of permanent residency,  as those afforded by other
Members with regard to their nationals.WT/L/509
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Consultation process
15. In the final two months of the process, the General Council shall proceed, through a process
of consultations, to narrow the field of candidates and ultimately to arrive at its choice for
appointment.
16. In arriving at its choice, the General Council shall aim to reach a decision by consensus.
17. The Chair, with the assistance of the facili tators, shall consult all Members, including non-
resident Members, in order to assess their preferences and the breadth of support for each candidate.
The ultimate aim of the consultation process shall be to identify the candidate around whom
consensus can be built.  In order to do this, it may be necessary to conduct successive consultations to
identify the candidate or candidates least likely to attract such a consensus.
18. The outcome of the consultations shall be reported to the membership at each stage.  It is
understood that the candidate or candidates least likely to attract consensus shall withdraw.  The
number of candidates expected to withdraw at each stage shall be determined according to the initial
number of candidates, and made known in advance.  This process shall be repeated in successive
stages on the basis of a revised slate of candidates each time, with the aim of establishing consensus
around one candidate.
19. At the end of the final stage of the consultative process, the Chair, with the support of the
facilitators, shall submit the name of the candidate most likely to attract consensus and recommend
his or her appointment by the General Council.
Recourse to voting as a last resort
20. If, after having carried out all the procedures set out above, it has not been possible for the
General Council to take a decision by consensus by the deadline provided for the appointment,
Members should consider the possibility of recourse to a vote as a last resort by a procedure to be
determined at that time.  Recourse to a vote for the appointment of a Director-General shall be
understood to be an exceptional departure from the customary practice of decision-making byconsensus, and shall not establish any precedent for su ch recourse in respect of any future decisions in
the WTO.
Term of office
21. The Director-General shall be appointed for a term of office of four years, and shall be
eligible for reappointment for a further term not ex ceeding four years.  There shall be no expectation
of automaticity in the reappointment.
22. In order to ensure continuity at the senior management level, the terms of office of the
Director-General and of the Deputy Directors-General shall be staggered, such that the terms of the
Deputies expire subsequent to the expiry of the Director-General's term.
23. In the event of a vacancy in the post of Director-General, the General Council shall designate
one of the existing Deputy Directors-General to  serve as Acting Director-General until the
appointment of a new Director-General.  The Chair of the General Council shall initiate, as soon as
possible, a process for appointment of a new Director-General, in keeping with the procedures set out
herein, and may establish expedited deadlines as necessary in consultation with Members.WT/L/509
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Remuneration package
24. The remuneration package for Directors-General shall be established by the Committee on
Budget, Finance and Administration and subject to the approval of the General Council.  It shall not
be negotiable with a Director-General-designate.
Contract of appointment
25. The contract of appointment, including the remuneration package, shall be signed jointly by
the Director-General-designate and by the Chair of the General Council acting in the name of the
WTO.
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