./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/WPDR/4
6 December 2002
(02-6740)
REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON DOMESTIC REGULATION
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES (2002)
1. Since its last annual report to the Council for Trade in Services, the Working Party on
Domestic Regulation (WPDR) held five formal meetings and two informal meetings.  Minutes of the
formal meetings are found in WTO documents S/WPDR/M/14 to M/18.  Informal papers have been
submitted to the Working Party.  Informal papers were submitted by the Chairperson,1 Members2 and
the Secretariat.3
I. DEVELOPMENT OF REGULATORY DISCIPLINES UNDER GATS ARTICLE VI:4
2. With respect to the development of regulatory disciplines on domestic regulation, discussions
of the Working Party in late 2001 and early 2002 continued to focus on the elements identified by
Members in the revised Checklist of Issues for WPDR  (JOB(01)/92 dated 19 June 2001).  At the
formal meeting on 12 March, Members agreed that the Summary of Discussions on the Checklist of
Issues for WPDR  and the Checklist itself  should be merged into one document.  The most recent
version of the Summary was circulated as JOB(02)/3/Rev.2, dated 4 October 2002.
3. At the formal meeting on 16 July, 2002, the OECD gave a brief presentation, on an informal
basis, regarding the meeting of services experts that was held in Paris in March 2002.
II. ORGANIZATION OF FUTURE WORK
4. Members discussed the organization of future work at an informal Working Party meeting (on
Friday 1 March) and during the formal meeting on 12 March, based on two Chairperson’s Notes
(JOB(02)/4, dated 30 January 2002, and JOB(02)/22, dated 7 March).  They were generally of the
view that it was time to focus more on the regulatory barriers and issues that service suppliers actually
faced.  This involved engaging in a review of the measures contained in the informal Secretariat paper
Examples of Measures to be Addressed by Disciplines under GATS Article VI:4  (latest version is
JOB(02)/20/Rev.2, dated 18 October 2002).
                                                     
1 JOB(01)/159, dated 22.11.01;  JOB(02)/4, dated 30.01.02; JOB(02)/22, dated 07.03.02;  JOB(02)/46,
dated 29.05.02;  JOB(02)/80, dated 12.07.02;  JOB(02) /81, dated 12.07.02; JOB(02)/80/Rev.1, dated 13.08.02;
and JOB(02)/147, dated 17.10.02.
2 JOB(02)/48, dated 31.05.02 (Communication fr om Thailand);  JOB(02)/50, dated 03.06.02
(Communication from Hong Kong, China); JOB(02)/150, dated 22.10.02 (Communication from Japan);
JOB(02)/146, dated 16.10.02 (Communication from  Australia); and JOB(02)/151, dated 21.10.02
(Communication from Australia).
3 JOB(01)/162, dated 27.11.01; JOB(02)/3, dated 29.01.02; JOB(02)/20, dated 07.03.02;
JOB(02)/3/Rev.1, dated 12.04.02;  JOB(02)/20/Rev.1,  dated 12.07.02; JOB(02)/3/Rev.2, dated 04.10.02;
JOB(02)/139, dated 4.10.02;  JOB(02)/139/Rev.1, date d 17.10.02;  JOB(02)/20/Rev.2, dated 18.10.02; and
JOB(02)/139/Rev.2, dated 25.10.02.S/WPDR/4
Page 2
III. DEVELOPMENT OF DISCIPLINES FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
5. Regarding the development of disciplines for professional services, the Working Party held
discussions on the informal Secretariat paper Synthesis of Results to Date of the Domestic
Consultations in Professional Services  (JOB(01)/162, dated 27 November 2001).  At the formal
meeting on 22 October 2002, the WPDR agreed on S ecretariat consultations with international
professional services organizations, as selected by Members, concerning the potential suitability of
the Disciplines on Domestic Regulation in the Accountancy Sector  (S/L/64, dated 17 December 1998)
for other professions.
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