WT/DS567/8  
 
5 October 2020  
(20-6735) Page: 1/2 
  Original: English  
 
 
SAUDI ARABIA – MEASURES CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL 
PROPERTY RIGHTS  
COMMUNICATION FROM QATAR  
The following communication, dated 30 September 2020 , was received from the delegation of Qatar  
with the request that it be circulated to the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB).  
 
_______________  
 
 
Subject : Proposal for an appeal -arbitration arrangement under Article 25 of the DSU in 
Saudi  Arabia  – Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (WT/DS567)  
 
On 28 July 2020, Saudi Arabia n otified the Dispute Settlement Body ( "DSB") of the World Trade 
Organization ( "WTO") of its decision to appeal the Report of the Panel in the aforementioned dispute 
(see document WT/DS567/7, "Saudi Arabia's Notice of Appeal "). 
 
Qatar has consistently conducted itself with a view to securing the prompt settlement of this dispute. 
Continui ng in that effort, Qatar now proposes that the appeal in this dispute be submitted to 
resolution through arbitration under Article 25 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures 
Governing the Settlement of Disputes ( "DSU"). 
 
As you are well aware, the App ellate Body of the WTO is currently unavailable to resolve appeals. 
Under these circumstances, arbitration under Article 25 of the DSU offers an alternative avenue to 
the resolution of appeals, which avoids frustration of a litigant's right to prompt settl ement of 
disputes.  
 
I request that you bring this proposal to the attention of Saudi Arabia and that this communication 
be circulated in the WT/DS567 document series. Qatar stands ready to make available 
representatives for the purpose of discussing the precise content of an agreement to refer the matter 
to Article 25 arbitration.  
 
Qatar reserves its rights to take action consistent with international law to safeguard its interests, 
in the event this proposal does not result in an agreement  to submit the appeal in this dispute to 
resolution through arbitration under Article 25.  
 
Recognizing that, absent an agreement to refer the matter to Article 25 arbitration, it may be some 
time before Members become aware of Qatar's response to the matte rs raised in Saudi Arabia's 
Notice of Appeal, Qatar has made the Executive Summary of its Appellee's Submission in this dispute 
available at the following link:  
 
https://geneva.mission.qa/en/media/news/detail/1442/02/12/executive -summary -of-qatar -s-
appellee -s-submission -(wt-ds567)   
 WT/DS567/8  
 
- 2 - 
 
  This document serves to highlight the key issues that would be promptly evaluated through 
Article 25 arbitration.1 
 
 
__________  
 
1 Of particular importance, the Article 25 arbitration would evaluate whether to declare moot and of no 
legal effect all of the Panel 's findings concerning application of the security exception in Article 73(b)(iii) to the 
measures at issue, including findings with respect to the existence of an "emergency" and the scope of the 
measures that Saudi Arabia "considers necessary" in the sense of the exception. See Executive Summary  of 
Qatar 's Appellee 's Submission, Section V. The Panel made findings on the application of the exception despite 
the fact that Saudi Arabia did not invoke Article 73(b)(iii) in defence of any of the measures found by the Panel 
to violate the substantive p rovisions of the TRIPS Agreement. See Saudi Arabia Notice of Appeal, WT/DS567/7, 
para. 15 ("Saudi Arabia's appeal of this issue relating to the invocation of Security Exceptions under the 
WTO Agreements is of particular systemic importance in the context o f this and other pending disputes. 
WTO panels have no basis to ignore Members' definition of the scope of invocation of WTO Security 
Exceptions.")