During a brief ceremony on 6 March, Mr. Raymond Krommenacker, Counsellor and Coordinator of Legal Advisory Services in the Technical Cooperation Division of the WTO, officially launched the 19th Special Course on Dispute Settlement Rules and Procedures. This is one of a series of courses held periodically under the auspices of the WTO technical assistance programme.

Mr. Krommenacker welcomed, on behalf of the WTO Secretariat, the 40 participants from developed, developing, least-developed countries/customs territories and economies in transition. “It is my hope that this course will be able to meet your expectations and improve your capacity to advise your governments on various WTO legal issues? Mr. Krommenacker's statement said. He mentioned that these courses were held three times a year in Geneva, and on demand and funds permitting, at various national or regional locations. Mr. Krommenacker alluded to the fact that the WTO legal regime is contained in various Agreements, Understandings, and Decisions of panels and the Appellate Body, requiring tremendous effort to understand and apply in practical situations. “It is in that context, that Article 27.3 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding provides for special training courses to be held to enhance the understanding among officials, of the WTO Dispute Settlement System? the statement concluded.

The four day course took place from 6-9 March 2001, in English, with simultaneous interpretation into French and Spanish.