CANADA – MEASURES GOVERNING THE SALE OF WINE COMMUNICATION FROM THE PANEL
Document: COMMUNICATION FROM
Date: 10 May 2019
Document codes: WT/DS537/12
Complainant: Australia
Respondent: Canada
Third parties: Argentina, Chile, China, EU, India, Israel, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Ukraine, U.S., Uruguay
Dispute stage: Mutually Agreed Solution
Agreements cited: Art. III:1, III:2, III:4, XXIV:12  GATT 1994

CANADA – MEASURES GOVERNING THE SALE OF WINE
COMMUNICATION FROM THE PANEL
The following communication, dated 7 May 2019, was received from the Chairperson of the Panel
with the request that it be circulated to the Dispute Settlement Body.

Paragraph 2(5) of the Working Procedures for the Panel proceedings in the dispute Canada –
Measures Governing the Sale of Wine (DS537) provides:

The Panel shall circulate its Working Procedures and timetable, and any
amendments thereto, to WTO Members through the DS document series
for this dispute.
Accordingly, please find enclosed the additional Working Procedures on open panel meetings adopted
by the Panel today.

I would be grateful if you would circulate this document to the DSB.

ADDITIONAL WORKING PROCEDURES FOR THE PANEL: OPEN MEETINGS
Adopted on 7 May 2019
1. Subject to the availability of suitable WTO meeting rooms, the Panel will open its first and
second substantive meetings with the parties to the public ("open session") pursuant to
paragraph 10(1) of its Working Procedures.1
2. If the Panel or any of the parties considers it necessary to close any part of the substantive
meetings ("closed session"), the Panel shall close the meeting immediately or convene a
closed session at a time to be determined by the Panel.
3. The Panel will invite the parties to introduce the members of their delegations in a closed
session at the beginning of the substantive meetings. The Panel will then start the open
session with the parties ' opening statements. After the parties' opening statements, each
party will be given the opportunity to pose questions or make comments, through the Panel,
on the other party's statement. The Panel may subsequently pose questions to the parties.
Once the questioning has concluded, the Panel shall afford each party an opportunity to
present a brief closing statement.
4. The Panel will start the third party session of its first substantive meeting with a session open
to the public ("open third party session"). Each third party wishing to make its statement in
the open third party session shall do so. After such third parties have made their statements,
the parties will be given the opportunity, through the Panel, to pose questions on any matter
raised in these t hird parties' submissions or statements. The Panel may subsequently pose
questions to these third parties. If any of the third parties wishes to make its statement in a
closed session ("closed third party session"), such session will be held immediately af ter the
open third party session. The procedures for the open third party session will equally apply to
the closed third party session.
5. During the first and second substantive meetings, the following persons shall be admitted into
the meeting room:
• Members of the Panel;
• Members of the delegations of the parties;
• Members of the delegations of the third parties, unless a party requests otherwise; and
• WTO Secretariat staff assisting the Panel.

6. During the third party session of the first substantive meeting, the following persons shall be
admitted into the meeting room:
• Members of the Panel;
• Members of the delegations of the parties;
• Members of the delegations of the third parties; and
• WTO Secretariat staff assisting the Panel.

7. Subject to the availability of suitable WTO meeting rooms, the open sessions of the substantive
meetings and the open third party session of the first substantive meeting will be open to
other WTO Members, Observers, staff members and registered members of the public via a
live closed-circuit television broadcast to a separate viewing room in the WTO. The closed
sessions of the meetings will not be filmed.
8. The viewings will be open to officials of WTO Members, Observers and staff members of the
WTO Secretariat upon presentation of their official badges. No later than four weeks before
the substantive meetings , the WTO Secretariat will place a notice on the WTO website
informing the public of the open sessions. The notice shall include a link through which
members of the public, inc luding accredited journalists and representatives of relevant non -
governmental organizations (NGOs), can register directly with the WTO. The date of the

1 The Working Procedures of the Panel were circulated as document WT/DS537/10.

deadline for public registration will be communicated to the parties as soon as it has been
established.