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AMBASSADOR Lilia Bautista, former trade secretary and
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman, was
appointed member of the powerful World Trade
Organization (WTO) Appellate Body, which has the power
to uphold, modify or reverse the legal findings and
conclusions on trade disputes brought before the
multilateral-trade umbrella.
A
statement sent by Ambassador Manuel Teehankee,
Philippine permanent representative to the WTO in
Geneva, Switzerland, said Bautista will be sitting in
the body starting December 11 with a term of four years.
Bautista
was among the nine candidates nominated to the four
vacancies in the Appellate Body.
Those
appointed by the WTO Dispute-Settlement Body, aside from
Bautista, are Jennifer Hillman (US), Shotaro Oshima
(Japan) and Yuejiao Zhang (China).
Foreign
Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said in a statement
sent to Geneva that “the appointment of a second
Philippine national to the Appellate Body in a span of
12 years since its establishment is a clear recognition
of the Philippines’ commitment to the multilateral
rules-based trading system and the dispute settlement
system in the WTO.”
Justice
Florentino Feliciano, a retired member of the Philippine
Supreme Court, served as one of the first members of the
Appellate Body from its establishment in 1995 until
2001.
The
Philippines is a founding member of the WTO.
Ambassador Bautista is currently a consultant of the
Philippine Judicial Academy. She also serves as a
director in the boards of leading Philippine
corporations, such as the Bank of the Philippine Islands
and RFM Corp.
Bautista, who briefly served as the Philippine Trade
secretary in 1992, was the Philippine Permanent
Representative to the United Nations, WTO, World Health
Organization, International Labor Organization and other
international organizations in
Geneva,
from December 1992 to June 1999.
After
her assignment in
Geneva,
Bautista returned to the Department of Trade and
Industry in July 1999 to become Senior Undersecretary
and Special Trade Negotiator. In March 2000, she was
appointed chairman of the SEC.
“Ambassador Bautista’s extensive experience as a
scholar, legal practitioner, policymaker, diplomat,
trade negotiator and government regulator in the field
of law, trade and economics will certainly allow her to
contribute actively and effectively as a member of the
WTO Appellate Body. We are grateful for the trust and
support of WTO members, including fellow member-states
from Asean,” Secretary Romulo added.
The
Appellate Body, which sits in Geneva, Switzerland, was
established in 1995 under Article 17 of the
Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the
Settlement of Disputes.
It is a
standing body of seven persons that hears appeals from
reports issued by panels in disputes brought by WTO
members.
The
Appellate Body can uphold, modify or reverse the legal
findings and conclusions of a panel, and Appellate Body
Reports, and once adopted by the Dispute Settlement
Body, must be accepted by the parties to the dispute.
Members
of the Appellate Body have four-year terms.
They
have to be individuals with recognized standing in the
field of law and international trade, and not affiliated
with any government. |
