These institutions, all of which are affiliated with members of the Appellate Body, plan to focus the conferences on current dispute settlement issues and the Appellate Body’s contribution to this system. Participants will include current and former Appellate Body Members, senior government representatives, WTO Secretariat officials, academics, journalists, students, and members of civil society.

Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi will give the keynote address at the first conference in this series and former Director-General Renato Ruggiero will give the inaugural address. This conference will take place at Stresa, Italy, 11-13 March 2005 and will be organized by the Research Centre on International Economic Organisations of the Universities of Piemonte Orientale, Torino, Genova, Milano, and Bocconi. Mr. Giorgio Sacerdoti, Professor of Bocconi University and a Member of the Appellate Body, is on the conference steering committee.

The second conference will be held in São Paulo, Brazil, 15-17 May 2005. It is being organized by the Brazilian Institute of International Trade Law and Development in cooperation with the University of São Paulo (Law School/International Law Department) and the Administrative Institute Foundation. Mr. Luiz Olavo Baptista, Professor at the University of São Paulo Law School and a Member of the Appellate Body, is on the conference steering committee.

The third conference will be held at the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan, 25-27 October 2005. It is being organized by Tokyo Keizai University with the support of governmental and semi-governmental agencies. The WTO Research Center of Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo and the Institute for International Studies and Training will also participate in the project. Mr. Yasuhei Taniguchi, Professor at Tokyo Keizai University and a Member of the Appellate Body, is a member of the conference steering committee, which is coordinated by the Fair Trade Center.

Other conferences will be held later in 2005 and in early 2006 in Cairo, Sydney and New York City.

Updated information on the series of conferences and on each event will be made available on a regular basis. Registration procedures will be posted as they become available.

For additional information on any of the planned conferences contact Judy Cowell by email at [email protected].