PRESS RELEASE 
 
PRESS/661 
3 May 2012 
 
(12-2343) 
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING: DISPUTE SETTLEMENT 
Three organizations collaborate to help developing countries 
handle trade litigation 
Officials from 26 developing countries are exploring new ways of handling legal disputes in trade, 
in a week-long event organized jointly by three Geneva organizations, starting on 30 April 2012. 
 
The event, co-organized by the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Centre for Trade 
and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and Advisory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL), is in two parts. 
 
According to ICTSD research, 88% of developing co untries say they are at a disadvantage in trade 
disputes because they have a more limited capacity to handle legal issues. The rest blamed the design of the dispute settlement system. 
 
New in the event is a two-day “ South-South Dialogue on Managing Trade Litigation ”, on 
3 and 4 May ( http://ictsd.org/i/events/dialogues/132040/ ). This part of the event, coordinated by 
ICTSD, brings together 50 experts and delegates from the developing countries to discuss their 
experiences, and explore real-life challenges in litigation.  
The Dialogue is interactive and designed to strengthen developing countries’ ability to manage 
international trade disputes.  
Participants in the Dialogue include 25 delegates from WTO member governments who also took 
part earlier in the week in the latest three-day WTO advanced training course on dispute 
settlement  on 30 April to 2 May, coordinated by the WTO and the ACWL. Experts on each of the 
stages of WTO dispute settlement provided instruction on their respective areas of expertise. 
 The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development  (ICTSD, http://www.ictsd.org ) is 
an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization, working on the international trade 
system and sustainable development by shar ing information and knowledge and promoting 
dialogue among a broad range of actors. 
 
The Advisory Centre on WTO Law  (ACWL, http://www.acwl.ch ) advises developing and least-
developed countries on all issues relating to WTO law, including free legal advice in general or at 
discounted rates on WTO dispute settlement.  
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  Learning from masters 
“The dispute settlement system has provided great benefits to the multilateral trading system and 
all WTO members,” said WTO Deputy Director-Gener al Alejandro Jara in his statement opening the 
course on 30 April. 
 
“But developing countries can only make use of these opportunities if they have the means to navigate this increasingly complex legal system. It is not only about knowing the rules — but more 
so about knowing how to manage litigation in practice.” 
 ACWL Executive Director Frieder Roessler echoed  Mr Jara’s sentiment: “The handling of WTO 
dispute settlement procedures is becoming increasi ngly complex, and this increasing complexity 
poses a challenge in the training of government o fficials from developing countries and LDCs,” he 
said. 
 
“Nowadays training requires a combination of hand s-on experience and the ability to transmit and 
share that know-how. This is the underlying philos ophy of this workshop, and the ACWL is firmly 
committed to this approach.” 
 The Dialogue discussions on 3–4 May range from coordination among different government 
agencies, the use of private lawyers to manage conflict before it becomes litigation and the 
different experiences of  different regions. 
 
“There are some true dispute settlement masters among developing countries,” said ICTSD Senior 
Associate Miguel Rodriguez-Mendoza.  
“To learn from their experiences can be vital for countries’ efforts to build the domestic systems 
needed for managing litigation. This starts with inter-agency coordination and ends with public-private partnerships to implementing authorised countermeasures.”  
 
Participants in the Dialogue comprise senior dispute settlement delegates, independent experts, and the delegates that attended the earlier training workshop. The experts’ task is to identify best 
practices for resolving conflicts in the multilateral trade system, and to discuss litigation 
techniques and pitfalls.  
“It’s a South-South conversation where the trainers are also the trainees, which has a different 
feel from a North-South exchange or classroom setting,” said one participant. “The countries represented here are diverse but share common chal lenges, and learning how your peers recently 
overcame the same problems you face today is a fruitful way to learn.” 
 
New partnership 
Lauding the three institutions’ partnership, ICTS D’s Mr Rodriguez Mendoza said: “The opportunity 
to partner with the WTO and ACWL and bring all these countries together is crucial for shifting our focus from information gathering to information dissemination and active trade litigation capacity-
building.”  
  
 
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  “This is also a new way of capacity building in the WTO” said the WTO’s Mr Jara. “Bringing 
together three institutions with shared interests towards developing countries, but with distinct 
knowledge, expertise and experience in dispute settlement, can only enrich our TA [technical 
assistance] beneficiaries. We are keen to take this partnership forward into other areas and other 
regions.” 
 
More 
WTO 
www.wto.org/disputes  
www.wto.org/technicalcooperation  
 
ICTSD 
ictsd.org/dsu  
http://ictsd.org/i/events/dialogues/132040/   
 
 
ACWL 
http://www.acwl.ch/e/training/training.html   
http://www.acwl.ch/e/disputes/dispute.html   
 
  
END