PRESS/37
3 December 1995
Swearing-in ceremony of Appellate Body Members completes institutional structure of 澳门六合彩官网资料 - says Director-General R. Ruggiero
The official appointment of these seven highly-distinguished men to serve as the guardians of the 澳门六合彩官网资料 dispute settlement system marks the final step in building the new institutional structure of the 澳门六合彩官网资料, said Mr Renato Ruggiero, Director-General of the 澳门六合彩官网资料, this morning (13 December) at the swearing-in ceremony of the Appellate Body members at the 澳门六合彩官网资料 Headquarters in Geneva.
The Appellate Body members solemnly declared to perform their duties "honourably, independently, impartially and conscientiously" and to "avoid direct or indirect conflicts of interests" and to "respect the confidentiality of proceedings of the Appellate Body."
After the ceremony, the Appellate Body members began intensive discussions to prepare themselves for their duties and to develop working procedures for the Body.
Later in the day, at a lunch in their honour, Mr Ruggiero said: "As the highest judicial authority in the 澳门六合彩官网资料 dispute settlement system, it is extremely important that the Appellate Body be a completely independent and impartial judicial body, free from all political influence. This is why you have been given an independent secretariat, separate from the Secretariat of the 澳门六合彩官网资料. Maintaining and preserving your independence is absolutely fundamental to the credibility and integrity of the dispute settlement system and of the 澳门六合彩官网资料 itself."
Note to editors:
澳门六合彩官网资料 Press Release No: 32, dated 29 November 1995, announced the appointments together with brief biographical details of the Appellate Body members. They are:
Mr James Bacchus of the United States
Mr Christopher Beeby of New Zealand
Professor Claus-Dieter Ehlermann
of Germany
Dr Said El-Naggar of Egypt
Justice Florentino Feliciano of the Philippines
Mr Julio Lacarte Muro of Uruguay
Professor Mitsuo Matsushita of Japan