PRESS RELEASE 
 
PRESS/501 
27 November 2007 
 
(07-5227) 
DISPUTE SETTLEMENT 
WTO appoints four new Appellate Body Members 
The WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) appointed today (27 November 2007) the following four 
new members to the seven-member Appellate Body: Ms  Lilia R. Bautista of the Philippines and Ms 
Jennifer Hillman of the United States for four years commencing on 11 December 2007; and Mr Shotaro Oshima of Japan and Ms Yuejiao Zhang of China for four years commencing on 1 June 
2008. Ms Bautista and Ms Hillman will replace Ms Merit Janow and Mr Yasuhei Taniguchi whose 
terms of office expire on 10 December 2007; an d Mr Oshima and Ms Zhang will replace Messrs 
Georges Abi-Saab and A V Ganesan whose terms of office expire on 31 May 2008.  
 
The appointments were made according to the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) which stipulates that the Appellate Body shall “comprise persons of recognized authority, with 
demonstrated expertise in law, international tr ade and the subject matter of the WTO agreements 
generally.” The DSU also requires that the Appellate Body membership be broadly representative of the WTO membership. Candidates were nomi nated by WTO Members and interviewed by a 
Selection Committee comprising the Director-General, and the Chairpersons of the General 
Council, the DSB, the Council for Trade in Goods, the Council for Trade in Services and the TRIPS 
Council. The appointments were made by the DSB on the basis of the Selection Committee's 
recommendation and following consultations with WTO Members. 
Notes to editors 
 1. Biographical notes on the four new members are attached. Biographical data on all of the 
Appellate Body members and former member s may be found on the WTO web site at 
www.wto.org. 
 
2. The Appellate Body hears appeals from dispute settlement panel reports on issues of law covered in the panel report and legal interpretations developed by the panel. Three members of 
the Appellate Body hear and determine any one a ppeal. The Appellate Body can uphold, modify or 
reverse the legal findings and conclusions of a panel. Appellate Body reports are adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body, and unconditionally accepted by the parties to the dispute, unless there 
is a consensus against adoption. Since its estab lishment in November 1995, the Appellate Body 
has issued 82 reports and every report has been adopted. PRESS/501 
Page 2 of 3 
 
 
Biographical note — Lilia R Bautista 
Born in the Philippines on 16 August 1935, Ms L ilia R Bautista is currently Consultant to the 
Philippine Judicial Academy which is the training school for Philippine justices, judges and lawyers.  
She is also a member of several corporate boards. 
 
Ms Bautista was the Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines from 2000 to 2004.  Between 1999 and 2000, she served as Senior Undersecretary and Special 
Trade Negotiator at the Department of Trade and Industry in Manila.  From December 1992 to 
June 1999, Ms Bautista was the Philippine Permanent Representative in Geneva to the United Nations, WTO, WHO, ILO and other international or ganizations.  During her assignment in Geneva, 
she chaired several bodies, including the WTO Council for Trade in Services.  Her long career in the 
Philippine Government also included posts as Lega l Officer in the Office of the President, Chief 
Legal Officer of the Board of Investments, and acting Trade Minister from February to June 1992. 
 
Ms Bautista earned her Bachelor of Laws Degree and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of the Philippines.  She wa s conferred the degree of Master of Laws by the 
University of Michigan as a Dewitt Fellow.
 
  
Biographical note — Jennifer Hillman 
 
Born in the United States on 29 January 1957, Ms Jennifer Hillman serves as a Fellow and Adjunct 
Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center's Institute of International Economic 
Law. Her work focuses on the WTO dispute settl ement system, the WTO agreements related to 
trade remedies, and the WTO jurisprudence related to trade remedies. 
 
From 1998 to 2007, Ms Hillman served as a member of the US International Trade Commission – an independent, quasi-judicial agency responsibl e for making determinations in anti-dumping and 
countervailing proceedings, and conducting safeguard investigations. 
 From 1995 to 1997, Ms Hillman served as the chief legal counsel to the USTR, overseeing the legal 
developments necessary to complete the impl ementation of the Uruguay Round Agreement. 
 From 1993 to 1995, Ms Hillman was responsible for negotiating all US bilateral textile agreements 
prior to the adoption of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing. 
 Ms Hillman has a Bachelor of Arts and Master of  Education from Duke University, North Carolina, 
and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard La w School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  
 
 
Biographical note — Shotaro Oshima 
 
Born in Japan on 20 September 1943, Mr Shotaro Oshima is a law graduate from the University of 
Tokyo, with almost 40 years experience as a diplomat in Japan's Foreign Service, most recently as 
Ambassador to the Republic of Korea.  
From 2002 to 2005, Mr Oshima was Japan's Permanent Representative to the WTO, during which 
time he served as Chair of the General Council and the Dispute Settlement Body.  
Prior to his time in Geneva, Mr Oshima served as  Deputy Foreign Minister responsible for economic 
matters and was designated as Prime Minister Koizumi's Personal Representative to the G8 PRESS/501 
Page 3 of 3 
 
 
Summit in Canada in June 2002. In the same year he served as the Prime Minister's Personal 
Representative to the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa.  
 From 1997 to 2000, Mr Oshima served as Director-General for Economic Affairs in the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, responsible for formulating and implementing major policy initiatives in Japan's 
external economic relations.
  
 
 
Biographical note — Yuejiao Zhang  
Born in China on 25 October 1944, Ms Yuejiao Zhan g is Professor of Law at Shantou University in 
China.  She is an Arbitrator on China's International Trade and Economic Arbitration Commission and practices law as a private attorney.  Ms Zhang also serves as Vice President of China's 
International Economic Law Society. 
 Between 1998 and 2004, Ms Zhang held various posi tions at the Asian Development Bank.  Prior 
to this, Ms Zhang held several positions in government and academia in China, including as 
Director-General of Law and Treaties at the Mini stry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation 
(1984-1997) where she was involved in drafting ma ny of China's trade laws such as the Foreign 
Trade Law, the Anti-Dumping Regulation and the Anti-Subsidy Regulation. 
 From 1987 to 1996, Ms Zhang was one of China's chief negotiators on intellectual property and 
was involved in the preparation of China's patent law, trade mark law, and copyright law.  She also 
served as the chief legal counsel for China's GATT resumption and WTO accession.  Between 1982 and 1985, Ms Zhang worked as legal counsel at the World Bank. 
 
Ms Zhang was a Member of UNIDROIT from 1987-1999.  She has a Bachelor of Arts  from China High Education College and a Master of Laws from Georgetown University Law Center.
 
END