Servansing of Mauritius in WTO Appellate Body

The WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) appointed on 26 September 2014 Mr Shree Baboo Chekitan Servansing, of Mauritius, to the seven-member Appellate Body for four years commencing on 1 October 2014. Mr Servansing will replace Mr David Unterhalter, whose second term expired on 11 December 2013.

The appointment was made by the DSB on the basis of a Selection Committee’s recommendation and following consultations with WTO members. Seven candidates for this position had been nominated by WTO members and interviewed by the Selection Committee comprising the Director-General and the Chairpersons of the General Council, the DSB, the Council for Trade in Goods, the Council for Trade in Services and the TRIPS Council.

As indicated in its recommendation to the DSB, the Committee was pleased to note that its consultations with members had confirmed its view as to which candidate had the qualifications required for the position in the Appellate Body and would enjoy the support of the membership. The Committee met individually with 51 delegations to hear their views on the candidates. It also received in writing the views of seven delegations.

Mr Servansing was the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Mauritius to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, including the WTO, from 2004 to 2012. As Ambassador to the WTO, Mr Servansing served as Chair of the Committee on Trade and Environment for two successive terms in 2005 and 2006 and as Chair of the Committee on Trade and Development for three consecutive terms from 2007 to 2009. He chaired the Work Programme on Small Economies and the dedicated session on Aid for Trade. He was also Chair of the African Group in Geneva in 2007 and the Coordinator of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group in Geneva over the periods 2004-06 and 2008-12. Since March 2013, Mr Servansing has been Team Leader of the Project Monitoring Unit on the ACP-EU TBT Programme, where he is responsible for capacity-building assistance to ACP countries to enhance their export competitiveness and improve quality infrastructure to comply with technical regulations.