RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/CSC/W/22
19 July 1999
(99-2976)
Committee on Specific Commitments
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULES OF COMMITMENTS IN ELECTRONIC FORM
DRAFT FORMAT AND SUGGESTED PROCEDURES
Note by the Secretariat
1. At   its 14 June 1999 meeting, the Committee on Specific Commitments requested the
Secretariat to provide a draft example of a schedule of commitments in electronic form, explain the
differences from the treaty copies, and suggest procedures for the verification of those schedules.This note has been prepared in response to that request.
2. Annex 1 contains an imaginary country schedule in the format of a treaty copy, produced in
WordPerfect/Word, while Annex 2 features the proposed electronic version in Sybase format.
3. The Secretariat considers Sybase to be well suited for this particular task.  The use of Word or
WordPerfect and their enhanced word processing capabilities would have required the complete
retyping of all schedules (more than 4,000 pages) as the spacing and use of tabulations had been made
by delegation in a non-harmonized manner.  Without complete reprocessing, no proper searches
would be possible. In addition, searches in Word and WordPerfect (only for key words) are not as richand structured as those allowed by Sybase.
1  Finally, the availability of the Sybase data base, in which
large parts of the relevant material had already been aggregated, helped to limit the time and resource
requirements involved in the consolidation of sche dules.  This applies in particular to the necessary
checking and updating of data.  Changes to other systems would have resulted in delays of at least one
year and cause additional cost.
3. However, while Sybase proved the most advantageous option, in the view of the Secretariat,
its use is not without constraints.2  Sybase exists only in English, and its word processing abilities are
not as comprehensive as those of WordPerfect or Word.  Since Sybase is mainly a data base software,
its use required the following adjustments to the presentation of the original schedules:
- footnotes are presented in a fifth column;- footnote numbers could not be inserted next to mode numbers, but had to be moved
to the beginning of the following text;
- footnote numbers after headings such as "Horizontal Commitments" and "Sector
Specific Commitments" had to be moved to the end of the following heading (for
example, "All sectors included in this schedule#1");
                                                     
1 See Annex 3 for examples of possible searches using Sybase.
2 The use of the database software, and the pros and cons involved, have been explained by the
Secretariat in previous documents;  see S/CSC/W/5 (30 May 1997) and S/CSC/W/8 (10 October 1997).S/CSC/W/22
Page 2
- some characters (for example, Ş), italics and underlines could not be reproduced and
had to be dropped;
- headings are indicated through capitalized first letters of the relevant text;- the alignment of text had to be modified in some cases;- full brackets around mode numbers – for example, (1) – had to replaced by one
bracket;  and
- headnotes which were inserted at the end of the Horizontal Section in the original
documents (for example, the definition of the coverage of mode 4 commitments) had
to be moved to the beginning of the Horizontal Section.
10. Contrary to the Secretariat's initial intentions, it is no longer envisaged to assign a date to
commitments.  This is mainly because of legal uncertainties surrounding commitments which have
been changed over time.  A Secretariat Note, document S/CSC/ W/14, dated 26 March 1998, explains
such uncertainties in the context of the three-year "freeze" provided for the modification of schedulesunder Article XXI.
11. Finally concerning the verification of the electronic schedules, the Secretariat envisages
proceeding as described in document S/CSC/W8, dated 10 October 1997 (para. 10):  a draft
aggregated schedule would be circulated to the de legation concerned for approval or, if need be,
modification;  failing comments within sixty days, th e aggregated schedule would be circulated to all
delegations.  Since there would be no collective veri fication, Members would be free at any time to raise
questions in the Committee on Specific Commitment s concerning the content of the electronic
schedules.  As noted on various occasions , these schedules have no legal value.S/CSC/W/22
Page 3ANNEX 1
- RURITANIA - SCHEDULE OF SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS (WordPerfect/Word format)
Modes of supply:             1)    Cross-border supply         2)    Consumption abroad           3)    Commercial presence          4)    Presence of natural persons
Sector or subsector Limitations on market access Limitations on national treatment Additional
commitments
HORIZONTAL COMMITMENTS3
ALL SECTORS LISTED IN
THIS SCHEDULE(3)  Investments subject to authorization4 by the
Ministry of Trade and Commerce (MTC)
(4)  Unbound except for intra corporate transferees
and managers(3)  Purchases of real estate by non resident subject
authorization
(4)  Subsidies to natural persons reserved by
nationals
Definitions:
"Intra-corporate transferee":  A natural person working within a juridical person, other than a non-profit making organization, established in the territory o f a WTO
Member, and being temporarily transferred in the context of the provision of a service through commercial presence in the natio nal territory.
"Manager":  Senior employee of a service supplier who primarily directs the management of the organization, receiving general supervision o r direction principally from
the board of directors of the business, including directing the services supplier or a department or sub-division thereof, supe rvising or controlling the work of other
supervisory, professional or managerial employee or having the authority to hire of fire or recommend such or other personnel a ctions.
                                                     
3 A non-discriminatory system of foreign exchange allocation applies to direct investment abroad.
4 The relevant criteria include: creation of new jobs, introduction of new technology, and organization of training programmes f or nationals.S/CSC/W/22
Page 4
RURITANIA  (continued)
Modes of supply:             1)    Cross-border supply         2)    Consumption abroad           3)    Commercial presence          4)    Presence of natural persons
Sector or subsector Limitations on market acces s Limitations on nation al treatment Additional
commitments
II SECTOR SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS
1. Business Services:
A. Professional Services :
a.  Legal services(1)5  None
(2)  Unbound
(3)  None
(4)  Unbound except as provided in the horizontal
commitments(1)  None
(2)  Unbound
(3)  None
(4)  Unbound except as provided in the horizontal
commitments
                                                     
5Trade under this mode is understood to include the delivery of a service following active solicitation.S/CSC/W/22
Page 5ANNEX 2
HORIZONTAL COMMITMENTS
RURITANIA
Modes of Supply:WTO Services Database Output
Page 1 of 1
1) Cross-border supply  2) Consumption abroad  3) Commercial presence  4) Presence of natural persons
Horizontal Measure Limitations on Market Access Limitations on National Treatment Additional Commitments Notes
HORIZONTAL COMMITMENTS#1
"Intra-corporate transferee":  A natural person working within a juridical person, other than a non-profit making organization, established in the territory o f a WTO Member, and being temporarily
transferred in the context of the provision of a service through commercial presence in the national territory.
"Manager":   Senior employee of a service supplier who primarily directs the management of the organization, receiving general supervision o r direction principally from the board of directors of the
business, including directing the services supplier or a departm ent or sub-division thereof, supervising or controlling the wor k of other supervisory, professional or managerial employee or having the
authority to hire of fire or recommend such or other personnel actions.
ALL SECTORS LISTED IN
THIS SCHEDULE3) Investments subject to
authorization by the Ministry of
Trade and Commerce (MTC)3) Purchases of real estate by non resident
subject authorization
4) Unbound except for intra corporate
transferees and managers4) Subsidies to natural persons reserved by
nationals#1 A non-discriminatory system of
foreign exchange allocation applies
to direct investment abroad.
#2 The relevant criteria include:
creation of new jobs, introduction
of new technology, andorganization of training
programmes for nationalsS/CSC/W/22
Page 6
SECTOR-SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS
RURITANIA
Modes of Supply:WTO Services Database Output
Page 1 of 1
1) Cross-border supply  2) Consumption abroad  3) Commercial presence  4) Presence of natural persons
Sector Limitations on Market Access Limitations on National Treatment Additional Commitments Notes
1. BUSINESS SERVICESA. Professional Servicesa) Legal Services 1)
2)
3)4)None#3
Unbound
NoneUnbound except as provided in the
horizontal commitments1)
2)
3)4)None
Unbound
NoneUnbound except as provided in the
horizontal commitments#3 Trade under this mode is
understood to include the deliveryof a service following active
solicitation.S/CSC/W/22
Page 7
ANNEX 3
SEARCHES IN SYBASE
I. CONDUCTING A SEARCH AMONG HORIZONTAL COMMITMENTS
A. STARTING POINT
As a starting-point, let us assume that a researcher or negotiator is interested in the structure
of horizontal limitations, whether on market access or national treatment, contained in current
schedules.  The search criteria he may use in this case are:  domain, level of development, country
group, and mode of supply.  Sybase allows him to specify these criteria within the following window:
Alternatively, the search may be confined to market access or national treatment limitations
alone, in which case the relevant category needs to be identified in the Columns  Box.  If both
categories and Either Or  are selected, any country with a horizontal limitation will be included.  If
Either Or  is deselected, the search will be limited to cases where both market access and national
treatment limitations have been scheduled.
The Modes of Supply  Box may be used to include/exclude limitations on any of the four
modes.S/CSC/W/22
Page 8
B. DOMAIN CRITERIA
The Domain  Box allows for the specification of countries to be included in the search.  The
system groups countries into continents and regions.  The countries/regions/continents chosen from
the Selection List will be included in the search and are shown under Selected Items (left side of the
domain box).
C. LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA
If the Level of Development  Box is activated, the following window appears.  The user may
then opt for any combination of four country classifications (see below).  Again, the relevant
classification(s) to be included in the search must be identified in the Selection List .
S/CSC/W/22
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D. COUNTRY GROUP CRITERIA
If the Country Group  button is clicked on, Sybase displays the following window.  In this
case, the Selection List offers a wide range of different country groupings for inclusion.
II. CONDUCTING A SEARCH AMONG SECTOR-SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS
A. STARTING POINT
Let us now assume, that a user's interest focuses on the number or the names of countries
which have undertaken commitments in a particular service sector.  He has to decide among five
search criteria:  domain, level of development, country group, service sector, and mode of supply.
The following window allows him to specify these criteria:
S/CSC/W/22
Page 10
As described above, the Sybase user is free to include market access and/or national treatment
limitations and any combination of modes of supply in his search.
In addition, since limitations under Horizontal Commitments apply to sector-specific
commitments as well, the user may also want to search within the former section.  If he activates theEvaluate Horizontals button, all relevant horizontal limitations will be included.
B. D
OMAIN , LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT AND COUNTRY GROUP CRITERIA
The Domain,  Level of Development and Country Group Boxes are structured and may be
used in the same way as described above.
C. SERVICE SECTOR CRITERIA
If the Sector  Box is activated, the following window is displayed.  The user may include any
service sector, or combination thereof, from the Selection List .  The selected sectors are shown on the
left side of the window.
S/CSC/W/22
Page 11
III. CONDUCTING A SEARCH AMONG MFN EXEMPTIONS
Users interested in MFN exemptions have  the following window at their disposal:
The window does not include a sector criterion.  Ascribing MFN exemptions to sectors would
have been misleading, even impossible in many cases, as MFN exemptions are not structured in the
same way as commitments.  Most exemptions are without CPC reference and the sector descriptions,
if any, provided by the Members concerned often refer to terms used in national legislation.
(Negotiators felt that such references to might he lp to reduce the sectoral scope of MFN exemptions.)
Given the uncertainties involved, and in view of the potential legal implications, the Secretariat did
not attempt to fill such gaps.  In the context of the electronic loose-leaf schedules, currently in
preparation, a full text-search mechanism will allow for searches by key-word.  This function is not
currently available for Sybase.
The Domain,  Level of Development and Country Group Boxes are structured and may be
used in the same way as described above.
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