WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/CFMC/W/1 
11 April 2008 
 
 (08-1674) 
 Original:   French 
  
DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK 
MECHANISM ON COTTON 
 
Cotton Projects
1 
 
Communication from Benin 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 22 November 2004, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Benin.  
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PROJECT N° 1 - SUPPORT FOR THE CONCILIATION AND ARBITRATION TRIBUNAL 
FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF COTTON-RELATED DISPUTES IN BENIN 
 A. J
USTIFICATION  
1. The management of the cotton sector has often been marked by disputes.  These disputes can 
be classified in terms of subject matter as follows: 
(i) Production 
(a) Disputes linked with the choice of input distributors. 
(ii) Cotton marketing 
(a) Complaints against the AIC and CSPR for non-compliance with the seed cotton 
movement plan. 
(b) Problems with seed cotton marketing outside the CSPR mechanism. 
(c) Non-binding nature of the unilateral promise to buy signed by the ginners with regard 
to the producers who have not formulated their acceptance. 
(d) Request for indexation of the price of seed cotton on the international market price. 
(e) Questioning of seed cotton quality. 
(f) Questioning by ginners of the seed cotton quota allocated in terms of installed 
capacity when that capacity is  greater than authorized. 
(g) Questioning of the movement plan. 
                                                      
1 This project was distributed amongst the Development Community by e-mail on 18 August 2005. WT/CFMC/W/1 
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(h) Total or partial loss of load: transfer of  risk from producer to Village Group, from 
Village Group to ginner, and from ginner to carrier. 
(i) Complaints by the ginner against the AIC and SONAPRA in cases of non-
performance relating to the cotton fibre grading contract. 
(iii) Management of intergroup relations 
(a) Problem of the enforceability of the framewo rk harvest agreement against ginners and 
producers who are not members of APEB and FUPRO. 
(b) Problem of the enforceability of the convention establishing the CSPR against 
ginners, distributors and producers who are not members of the CSPR. 
(c) Problem of the enforceability of agreemen ts and decisions against persons who are 
not members of the AIC. 
2. To safeguard close cooperation among the various players in the sector and reduce the risks 
associated with the judicial se ttlement of these disputes, the In terprofessional Cotton Association 
(AIC) has set up a Conciliation and Arbitrati on Tribunal administered by a Conciliation and 
Arbitration Committee. 
3. The task of this Committee is "to organize the settlement by arbitration of any dispute that 
may arise in connection with contracts signed in the context of cotton sector activities and everything 
relating thereto.  The Committee shall not settle the disputes itself but shall provide for the application 
of the rules on conciliation and arbitration adopted by  the General Assembly of the AIC.  It shall be 
chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the AI C and assisted by an Administrative and Legal 
Secretariat.  This Secretariat shall act as the re gistry for the arbitration tribunal" (cf. Article 13 bis of 
the Statutes of the AIC and Article 2.1 of the Rules on Conciliation and Arbitration. 
4. The implementation of the dispute settlement sy stem has led to the election of conciliators 
(two per commune), for those disputes that are settl ed by conciliation, and the selection of arbitrators 
from a guide list compiled from responses to invitatio ns published in the nati onal daily newspapers. 
5. A number of facts need to be taken into account in order to assure users of the Conciliation 
and Arbitration Tribunal that the decisions taken, whether arbitration rulings or conciliation reports, 
will be effective and efficient. 
6. Thus, it should be noted that the AIC's arbitra tion tribunal is the first of its kind in Benin.  
This lack of experience in dispute settlement through  conciliation and arbitration justifies the need for 
awareness-raising, the dissemination of information,  training and retraining, for those who appear 
before the tribunal as  well as for the conciliators and arbitrators. 
7. From the above it follows that both the bodies r esponsible for the functioning of the AIC's 
Conciliation and Arbitration Tr ibunal and the cotton sector ope rators will need support. 
B. O
BJECTIVES  
8. To help deal, on the one hand, with the mana gement of a conciliation and arbitration body 
and, on the other, with the settlement of cotton -related disputes through conc iliation and arbitration.  WT/CFMC/W/1 
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  C. DESCRIPTION OF MAIN ACTIVITIES  
(a) Training in conciliation. 
(b) Training in arbitration. 
(c) Training of trainers. 
(d) Organization of conferences to raise the awareness of a broad audience with regard to 
alternative methods of dispute settlement. 
(e) Operation of the Conciliation and Arbitration Tribunal. 
(f) Participation in events relating to a lternative methods of dispute settlement. 
(g) Publication of information bulletins. 
D. EXPECTED RESULTS  
(a) Conciliators and arbitrators trained and familiar with the procedures for settling 
cotton-related disputes through conciliation and arbitration. 
(b) All those with an interest in conciliation and arbitration trained by the Tribunal's 
trainers. 
(c) Publication of an information bulletin. 
(d) A Conciliation and Arbitration Committee familiar with the management and 
administration of disputes. 
(e) A web site in place. 
(f) Availability of documentation on alternativ e methods of dispute settlement (theory 
and case-law) and all documents useful  for settling cotton-related disputes. 
(g) Familiarity with the functioning of a conciliation and arbitration body. 
E. COST:  CFA Francs  1.7 billion 
(a) Year 1: CFA  Francs 540,000,000. 
(b) Year 2: CFA  Francs 440,000,000. 
(c) Year 3: CFA Francs 340,000,000. 
(d) Year 4: CFA Francs 240,000,000. 
(e) Year 5: CFA Francs 140,000,000. 
F. ACTIVITIES TO BE FUNDED  
(a) Training:  CFA Francs 490 million. 
(b) Conferences:  CFA Francs 190 million. WT/CFMC/W/1 
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  (c) Functioning of the Conciliation and Arbitr ation Tribunal:  CFA Francs 400 million. 
(d) Publication of information bulletin:  CFA Francs 120 million. 
(e) Study trips:  CFA Francs 380 million. 
(f) Setting up and managing the web site:  CFA Francs 50 million. 
(g) Documentation:  CFA Francs 70 million. 
 
G. F
INANCIAL PLANNING OF PROJECT ACTIVITIES  
 
AMOUNT IN MILLIONS OF CFA FRANCS Activity to be funded 
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total 
1. Training 147 197 76 45 25 490
2. Conferences 58 48 36 28 20 190
3. Functioning of Tribunal 110 100 80 60 50 400
4. Publications 33 29 25 18 14 120
5. Study trips and exchanges 118 100 82 50 30 380
6. Setting up and management of 
web  site -- - -  -  5 0
7. Documentation 25 20 10 10 5 70
TOTAL 491 494 310 211 144 1,700
 
H. DURATION :  5 years. 
I. LOCATION :  AIC  Cotonou, Benin. 
J. PARTNERS :  AIC,  Beneficiaries,  CCA. 
 
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