CANADA – CONTINUED SUSPENSION OF OBLIGATIONS IN THE EC – HORMONES DISPUTE
Document: Report of the Panel Addendum
Date: 31 March 2008
Document codes: WT/DS321/R/Add.1; WT/DS321/R.
Complainant: EU
Respondent: Canada
Third parties: Australia, Brazil, China, Taiwan, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, U.S.
Dispute stage: Appellate Body
Agreements cited: Art. I, II  GATT 1994Art. 3.7, 22, 23.1, 23.2, 21.5  Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU)

CANADA – CONTINUED SUSPENSION OF
OBLIGATIONS IN THE EC – HORMONES DISPUTE

Report of the Panel

Addendum

 This addendum contains Annex A to the Re port of the Panel to be found in document
 The other annexes can be found in the following addenda:

 – Annex B: Add.2
 – Annex C: Add.3
 – Annex D: Add.4
 – Annex E: Add.5
 – Annex F: Add.6
 – Annex G: Add.7

ANNEX A

CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE PANEL TO THE PARTIES
AND WORKING PROCEDURES

Contents Page
Annex A-1 Letter to the Parties dated 1 August 2005 on the Panel Decision on
Open Hearings for Public Observation
A-2
Annex A-2 Working Procedures for the Panel A-3
Annex A-3 Letter to the Parties date d 20 October 2005 on the Panel Decision
on Consulting Scientific and Technical Experts
A-6
Annex A-4 Letter to the Parties dated 25 November 2005 on the Panel
Decision on Certain Issues concerning the Experts' Working
Procedures
A-8
Annex A-5 Working Procedures for Cons ultations with Scientific and/or
Technical Experts
A-10

ANNEX A-1

LETTER TO THE PARTIES DATED 1 AUGUST 2005
ON THE PANEL DECISION ON OPEN HEARINGS
FOR PUBLIC OBSERVATION

 In light of the parties' common request made on 13 June 2005 to have their meetings with the
Panel open to the public; keeping in mind the Panel's obligation to ensure that its Working Procedures
are objective, impartial and non-discriminatory; and after careful consideration of the existing
provisions of the DSU and its Appe ndix 3, the Panel has decided to accept the parties' request and to
agree that the panel meetings at which the parties ar e invited to appear, as referred to in paragraph 2
of Appendix 3 of the DSU, will be open for observation by the public through a closed-circuit
broadcast.

 With a view to ensuring transparency to th e fullest extent possible and non-discriminatory
access by all people, in particular by all Members, the Panel will request the Secretariat to finalize the
appropriate logistical arrangement s, and to guarantee that each WTO Member delegation has at least
two seats available in the room where the closed-cir cuit broadcast will be transmitted. In addition,
before its second meeting with the parties, the Pane l will review the need to extend further such non-
discriminatory access, through internet broadcasting, in light, inter alia, of the interest shown by and
comments received from the public and taking into c onsideration any relevant information provided
by the Secretariat relating to this matter.

 Since not all third parties have agreed that their session with the Panel be open for
observation by the public, that session will remain closed.

 Please note that, as provided in paragraph 3 of the Panel's Working Procedures, the parties
retain the right to request at any time, including dur ing panel meetings at which they are invited to
appear, that specific statements of theirs not be broadcast so as to remain confidential. The Panel may
also decide on its own to suspend broadcasting at any time, including during such meetings.

 Finally, the Panel wishes to bring to the atte ntion of the parties that the dates of the first
meeting of the Panel with the parties and third parties have been changed as follows: On Monday and
Tuesday, 12 and 13 September, the Panel will m eet with the parties; on Wednesday morning,
14 September, the Panel will meet with the third pa rties; and on Thursday 15 September, the Panel
will meet again with the parties to complete its firs t substantive meeting and allow parties, if need be,
to present their closing statements.

 The Panel reserves the right to elaborate furthe r in its report on its reasoning with regard to
this decision.

 Attached is a revised version of the Working Procedures and a revised Timetable of the Panel
that reflect this decision.

ANNEX A-2

WORKING PROCEDURES FOR THE PANEL

1. The Panel will provide the parties with a tim etable for panel proceedings and will work
according to the normal working procedures as set out in the DSU and its Appendix 3 plus certain
additional procedures, as follows:
2. The Panel shall meet in closed session. The par ties to the dispute, and the third parties, shall
be present at the meetings only when invited by the Pane l to appear before it. In light of the parties'
common request, the panel meetings at which the parties are invited to appear will be open for
observation by the public through closed-circu it broadcast, provided satisfactory logistical
arrangements can be maintained by the Secretariat.
3. At any moment including during such meetings , any party may request the Panel to suspend
the broadcasting for as long as necessary in order to protect confidentiality. The Panel also has the
right on its own to suspend the broadcasting at any time, including during such meetings.
4. The deliberations of the Panel and the documents submitted to it shall be kept confidential.
Nothing in these procedures shall preclude a party to a dispute from disclosing statements of its own
positions to the public, provided that that party do es not thereby disclose any confidential information
from the other parties or third parties. Members shall treat as confidential information submitted by
another Member to the Panel which that Member has designated as confidential. As provided in
Article 18.2 of the DSU, where a party to a dis pute submits a confidential version of its written
submissions to the Panel, it shall also, upon request of a Member, provide a non-confidential
summary of the information contained in its submissions that could be disclosed to the public.
5. Before the first substantive meeting of the Pane l with the parties, the parties to the dispute
shall transmit to the Panel written submissions in which they present the facts of the case and their
arguments. The third parties may transmit to th e Panel written submissions after the first written
submissions of the parties have been submitted.
6. At its first substantive meeting with the par ties, the Panel shall ask the party which has
brought the complaint to present its case. Subseque ntly, at the same meeting, the party against which
the complaint has been brought shall be asked to present its points of view.
7. The third parties shall be invited in writing to present their views during a session of the first
substantive meeting of the Panel set aside for th at purpose. In light of the absence of a common
agreement among the third parties on the issue of opening this session of the panel meeting for
observation by the public, this session will remain closed. The third parties may be present during the
entirety of this session.
8. Formal rebuttals shall be made at the second s ubstantive meeting of the Panel. The party
complained against shall have the right to take the fl oor first to be followed by the complaining party.
The parties shall submit, prior to that meeting, written rebuttals to the Panel.
9. The Panel may at any time put questions to the pa rties and ask them for explanations either in
the course of a meeting with the parties or in writi ng. Written replies to questions shall be submitted
by the date(s) decided by the Panel
10. The parties to the dispute and any third party i nvited to present its views shall make available
to the Panel and to the parties a written version of their oral statements.

11. The presentations, rebuttals and statements referred to in paragraphs 6 to 10 shall be made in
the presence of the parties. Moreover, each party's written submissions, including responses to
questions put by the Panel, comments on the descr iptive part of the report, and comments on the
interim report, shall be made available to the other party.
12. Any request for a preliminary ruling (including rulings on jurisdictional issues) to be made by
the Panel shall be submitted no later than in a party' s first written submission. If a party requests such
a ruling, the other party shall submit its respective response(s) to such request within a time limit
specified by the Panel. Exceptions to this procedure will be granted upon a showing of good cause.
13. The parties shall submit all factual evidence to the Panel no later than during the first
substantive meeting, except with respect to evid ence necessary for purposes of rebuttals, and answers
and comments to questions. Exceptions to this procedure will be grante d upon a showing of good
cause. In such cases, the other parties shall be accorded a period of time for comment, as appropriate.
14. To facilitate the maintenance of the record of th e dispute, and for ease of reference to exhibits
submitted by the parties, parties are requested to number their exhibits sequentially throughout the
stages of the dispute.
15. The parties and third parties shall endeavour to provide the Panel with executive summaries
of the facts and arguments as presented to the Panel in their written submissions and oral statements
within 10 days following the delivery to the Pane l of the relevant written submissions or oral
statements. The executive summaries of the written submissions to be provided by each party should
not exceed 10 pages in length each and the executive summaries of the oral statements should not
exceed 5 pages in length each.
16. The executive summaries shall not in any way serve as a substitute for the submissions of the
parties in the Panel's examination of the case. However, the Panel may reproduce the executive
summaries provided by the parties and third parties in the arguments section of its report, subject to
any modifications deemed appropriate by the Panel. The parties' and third parties' replies to
questions, and the parties' comments on each other's re plies to questions may be attached to the Panel
report as annexes.
17. The parties and third parties to these proceedings have the right to determine the composition
of their own delegations. The parties and third pa rties shall have responsibility for all members of
their delegations and shall ensure that all member s of their delegations act in accordance with the
rules of the DSU and the Working Procedures of this Panel. The parties shall provide a list of the
participants of their delegation before or at the beginning of the meeting with the Panel.
18. Following issuance of the interim report, the par ties shall have no less than 10 days to submit
written requests to review precise aspects of the inte rim report and to request a further meeting with
the Panel. The right to request such a meeting must be exercised no later than at the time the written
request for review is submitted. Following receipt of any written requests for review, in cases where
no further meeting with the Panel is requested, the parties shall have the opportunity within one week
to submit written comments on the other party's' wr itten requests for review. Such comments shall be
strictly limited to commenting the other party's written requests for review.
19. The following procedures regarding service of documents apply:
 (a) Each party and third party shall serve its submissions directly on all other parties,
including where appropriate the third parties, and confirm that it has done so at the
time it provides its submissions to the Panel.

 (b) The parties and third parties should provide the Panel and the parties with their
submissions, answers to questions and comments invited by the Panel by 5:30 p.m.
on the deadline dates established by the Panel, unless a different time is set by the
Panel.

 (c) The parties and third parties shall provi de the Panel and the parties with copies of
their oral statements, preferably at the end of the meeting, and in any event not later
than noon of the first working day following the last day of the substantive meetings.
The parties and third parties are encouraged to provide a provisional written version
of their oral statements at the time the oral statement is presented.

 (d) The parties and third parties shall provide the Panel with 9 hard copies of all their
submissions, including the written versions of oral statements and answers to
questions. All these copies shall be filed with the Dispute Settlement Registrar,
***** (office number 3154).

 (e) At the time they provide a hard copy of their submissions, the parties and third parties
shall also provide the Panel with an electronic copy of all their submissions on a
diskette or as an e-mail attachment in a format compatible with the Secretariat's
software. E-mail attachments shall be sent to the Dispute Settlement Registry
(DSRegistry@wto.org) with a copy to ***** (e-mail: *****@wto.org), Secretary to
the Panel.

 (f) Each party shall serve executive summari es mentioned in paragraph 15 directly on
the other parties, and third parties when re levant, and confirm that it has done so at
the time it provides its submission to the Panel. Each third party shall serve executive
summaries mentioned in paragraph 15 directly on the parties and other third parties
and confirm that it has done so at the time it provides its submission to the Panel.
Subparagraphs (d) and (e) above shall be applied to the service of executive
summaries.

20. The Panel reserves the right to modify these pr ocedures at any time following consultations
with the parties.

ANNEX A-3

LETTER TO THE PARTIES DATED 20 OCTOBER 2005
ON THE PANEL DECISION ON CONSULTING
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL EXPERTS

 The Panel has instructed me to comm unicate the following message to you.

 The Panel recalls that it sought the opinions of the Parties on whether there was a need to
consult technical or scientific experts on sanitary i ssues, should the Panel consider it necessary in the
process of resolving this dispute. From the Parties' replies to the questions of the Panel, it appears that
no Party disagrees that, should the Panel proceed w ith an assessment of the measure taken by the
European Communities to comply with the re commendations and rulings of the DSB in the EC –
Hormones case (hereafter the "EC implementing measure"), advice from technical or scientific
experts would be necessary.

 The Panel notes the views expressed by the Eur opean Communities regarding the nature of
this case and the order in which its claims should be reviewed by the Pa nel. At this early stage, the
Panel is of the view that it is in its interest, as well as in the interest of the Parties, to be fully informed
of all relevant aspects of the dispute before it reaches a decision.

 As a result, in order to facilitate the smooth handling of the proceedings while ensuring that
Parties are given ample opportunities to express their views on all aspects of the case, the Panel has
decided to initiate a process for c onsultation with experts in relati on to the technical or scientific
aspects of the compatibility of the EC's implemen ting measure with the relevant provisions of the
SPS Agreement.

 The Panel would like to stress that the decision to proceed with the consultation with experts
is without prejudice to the positions held by any Part y in this respect and without prejudice to the
conclusions that the Panel will ultimately reach on the claims raised by the European Communities.

 Attached for your consideration and comments, if any, are (i) the working procedures the
Panel proposes to use for consultations with expe rts and (ii) a revised timetable reflecting the
necessary adjustments resulting from the incorpora tion of an expert consultation process in these
proceedings.

 You will note from the attached timetable that in light of this decision, the Panel considers it
appropriate to grant to all Parties a further exte nsion of the deadline for submitting rebuttals, until
Wednesday,16 November 2005. Furthermore, the date of the second substantive meeting of the Panel
with the Parties will be postponed to the week beginning on 13 March 2006.
1 Should a meeting with
the experts be considered necessary, the Panel would intend to hold that meeting immediately prior to
the second substantive meeting with the Parties.

1 The Panel recalls that a potential date for the second substantive meeting had been set for
6 December 2005. However, it was brought to the attenti on of the Panel in the mean time that the preparation
and holding of the Ministerial Conference would make it quite impossible to hold any panel meeting before
January 2006.

 The Panel would appreciate your comments a nd/or suggestions by close of business on
Tuesday, 25 October 2005 (i) on the attached proposed working procedures, (ii) on the technical or
scientific aspects on which you would like the Panel to consult experts, (iii) on the adjustments made
in the revised Panel timetable as well as (iv) on wh ether the meeting with the experts and the parties
should be open for observation by the public.

ANNEX A-4

LETTER TO THE PARTIES DATED 25 NOVEMBER 2005
ON THE PANEL DECISION ON CERTAIN ISSUES
CONCERNING THE EXPERTS' WORKING PROCEDURES

 The Panel thanks the Parties for their comment s on the expert working procedures and related
issues, complemented by additional letters in response to points raised in each other's
communications.

 Having considered the extensive comments from the Parties on the expert consultation
process, the Panel wishes to inform the Parties of its decision. The modified working procedures for
seeking expert advice are attached.

Nature of Advice

The Panel will take into account the rebuttals before finalizing the issues for expert
consultations.

Selection of experts

 With respect to the EC's suggestion that the Panel seek advice from an expert review group
instead of individual experts, the Panel is not convinced that this is a preferable option. Firstly, the
Panel would wish to hear any dissenting or minority views among the experts rather than receiving a
consensus text from an expert review group. We do not consider that the risk that experts may have
diverging opinions would generate difficulties as serious as alleged by the EC. We see rather the risk
that an expert review group would only agree on a minimum common position, thus depriving the
Panel of a full picture. In addition, the fields of competence proposed by the Parties are quite varied,
rendering it difficult to find individual experts which ha ve competence in most or all of these fields to
serve in an expert group. The fact that no e xpert will have a comprehe nsive knowledge of all the
relevant subjects makes it even more important fo r the Panel to seek advice from the experts on an
individual basis on their respective fields of expertise. It is also worth noting that so far, all WTO
panels have preferred to consult experts on an individual basis.

 The Panel also wishes to clarify that it w ill initially seek suggestions for experts from the
Codex Alimentarius Commission, JECFA and the IARC and may also contact these three
organizations with questions on their working proce dures and/or their work in areas relevant to the
dispute. Should the Panel consider it necessary to consult any other releva nt organization, it will
provide the Parties with an opportunity to comment prior to undertaking such consultations.

 Having considered the EC's proposals that the Pa rties provide suggestions for experts and that
the Panel exclude from consideration those wh o have received funding from pharmaceutical
companies and/or been involved in the regulatory approval of hormones, the Panel has modified the
expert working procedures to reflect some of the underlying concerns the EC might have. When
contacting the experts suggested by internati onal organizations, the Panel will underline the
importance of disclosing information regarding any potential conflict of interest and elaborate more
precisely the type of information that needs to be disclosed. Still, rather than ruling out any expert
from the start, the Panel wishes to consider each expert's case individuall y, taking into account
information provided by the experts and the comments provided by the Parties on these experts.

 Should the Parties submit objections, which the Panel deems compelling, to all or most
experts suggested, it will then seek additional su ggestions for experts from other international
organizations and, if deemed necessary, from the Parties.

Written Procedure

 The Panel also wishes to confirm that a cove r letter will accompany the questions to experts,
explaining their role and mandate as well as their oblig ations in terms of potential conflicts of interest
and confidentiality.

Meeting with Experts

 The experts will be provided with an opportuni ty to respond to Parties' written comments on
their replies during the meeting with the experts.

 Further to affirmative statements from all Par ties, the meeting with the experts will be open
for observation by the public through closed-circuit television.

Other matters

 With respect to the EC's request that the Pane l ask the US and Canada to provide the studies
underlying the risk assessments of the US, Canada (a nd JECFA), the Panel is not in a position to fully
assess the necessity for this information at this stage. This said, the Panel notes that its task is not to
conduct a comprehensive assessment of the safety of hormones in meat. Rather, should the Panel
consider it necessary for the resolution of the pr esent dispute, it would assess the compatibility of the
EC's measure with the provisions of the SPS Agreem ent. Nevertheless, to the extent that this
information becomes necessary for the Panel to make its determination in this case, the Panel cannot
exclude that it may request part or all of the inform ation referred to by the EC. More generally, the
Panel expects the Parties' full collaboration in gathering the information necessary for an objective
assessment of the matter before it. The Panel also recalls that it is for each party to submit sufficient
evidence in support of its assertions.

 Finally, the Panel wishes to remind the Par ties that the main Working Procedures for the
Panel also apply to the consultation with scientific experts.

ANNEX A-5

WORKING PROCEDURES FOR CONSULTATIONS
WITH SCIENTIFIC AND/OR TECHNICAL EXPERTS

NATURE OF ADVICE

1. On the basis of the first written submissions, the oral statements, the replies to Panel's
questions, and the rebuttals, the Pa nel will determine the areas in which it intends to seek expert
advice
SELECTION OF EXPERTS

2. In consultation with the parties, the Pane l will choose experts and seek their advice as
individual experts. If it deems necessary, the Pa nel may also seek information and advice from the
Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (C AC), the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee
on Food Additives (JECFA) and/or th e International Agency for Rese arch on Cancer (IARC), or any
other relevant international organization.
3. The Panel will solicit suggestions from the se cretariats of CAC, JECFA and IARC for
possible experts.
4. The Panel will seek a curriculum vitae , including all relevant publications, from each
individual suggested. The candidate experts will also be asked to provide information about potential
conflicts of interest and indicati ons on whether they have worked for, been funded by or provided
advice to the industries concerned, or to domestic or international regulatory bodies involved in issues
similar to those addressed in this dispute. A list of eligible experts, including their curricula vitae and
declarations of interest will be provided to the pa rties. Parties will have sufficient time to examine
them and will be given the opportunity to comme nt on and to make known any compelling objections
to any particular expert.
5. The Parties will receive copies of the Panel's correspondence with the relevant international
organizations and the experts.
6. Should the Parties submit objections, which the Panel deems compelling, to all or most
experts suggested by the CAC, JECFA, and the IA RC, the Panel will seek additional suggestions for
experts from other international organizations with competence in the matter and, if it deems it
necessary, from the Parties.
7. The Parties are requested not to engage in direct contact in connection with this dispute with
the individuals suggested.
8. The number of experts that the Panel will select w ill be determined in light of the number and
types of issues on which advice will be sought, as we ll as by the different areas on which each expert
can provide expertise.
9. After having reviewed the comments made by th e Parties, experts will be appointed on the
basis of their qualifications and the need for specialized scientific or technical expertise.
10. The Panel will inform the Parties of the experts it has selected.

11. The selected experts shall act in their indi vidual capacities and not as representatives of any
entity. They shall be subject to the Rules of Conduct for the Unders tanding on Rules and Procedures
Governing the Settlement of Disputes (WT/DSB/RC1), including the self-disclosure requirement set
out in Section VI of the rules of conduct.
WRITTEN PROCEDURE

12. The Panel will prepare specific written questions for the experts. Parties will have the
opportunity to comment on the proposed questions, or suggest additional ones, before the Panel
decides on the final questions to be sent to the experts.
13. The experts will be provided with the Parties' and third parties' written and oral submissions
as well as their replies to the Panel's questi ons (including exhibits) on a confidential basis.
1 They will
also be provided with the Pane l and Appellate Body Reports on European Communities – Measures
Concerning Meat and Meat Products (EC – Hormones – WT/DS26 and WT/DS48).
14. The experts will be requested to provide responses in writing within a time-period specified
by the Panel. Copies of these written responses will be provided to the Parties. The Parties will have
sufficient opportunities to comment in writing on the responses from the experts.
15. The Panel will ensure that: (i) the Parties' comments on the experts' responses are provided to
the experts; (ii) the experts are individually provi ded with the other experts' responses to the Panel's
questions.
16. Without prejudice to Paragraph 13 of the Panel Working Procedures on submission of
evidence, and in order to facilitate the expert cons ultations, the Parties are requested to provide any
scientific evidence which they believe would be u seful for the experts by Monday, 21 December
2005.
MEETING WITH EXPERTS

17. The Panel intends to schedule a meeting with the experts prior to the second substantive
meeting. A date for the meeting will be agreed in consultation with the Parties. During the meeting,
the experts will be invited to present their replies to written and oral questions, complement these as
necessary, respond to comments from the Parties on their written replies, and respond to additional
questions from the Panel and the Parties. The Par ties will be given an opportunity to ask questions
they consider necessary in order to clarify the technical/scientific issues at stake.
18. In consultation with the Parties, the Panel w ill schedule additional meetings with the experts
if it deems it appropriate.
19. The Parties are free to include scientific experts in their delegations.
20. The Secretariat will prepare a summary of expert s' written replies to the Panel's questions, as
well as a transcript of the meeting with the expert s, for attachment as a supplement to the Panel's
report. The experts and the Parties will be given sufficient time to comment on the drafts of these
texts before they are finalized.

1 This is without prejudice to the right of parties to make public any of their submissions or statements
before the Panel.

21. The meeting with the experts will be open to ob servation by the public in the same manner as
the other substantive meetings of the Panel.