Panel. Home. Home. CODEX ALIMENTARIUS. SPS - SPS Agreement CBT - Work of other relevant Organizations - The "Three Sister" Organizations - Page 1. Codex Alimentarius Commission back to top In the early 1960s, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized the importance of developing international food standards for the purposes of protecting public health and minimizing disruption of international food trade. The Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Program was established, and the Codex Alimentarius Commission was designated to administer the program.
The leaders who established the Food Standards Programme and the Codex Alimentarius Commission were concerned with protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in the food trade. They felt that both of these objectives could be best met if all countries harmonized their food regulations and adopted internationally agreed standards. The advantages of having universally uniform food standards for the protection of consumers were recognized by international negotiators during the Uruguay Round.
Understanding the WTO - A unique contribution. How are disputes settled? Back to top Settling disputes is the responsibility of the Dispute Settlement Body (the General Council in another guise), which consists of all WTO members. The Dispute Settlement Body has the sole authority to establish “panels” of experts to consider the case, and to accept or reject the panels’ findings or the results of an appeal. It monitors the implementation of the rulings and recommendations, and has the power to authorize retaliation when a country does not comply with a ruling. First stage: consultation (up to 60 days). Second stage: the panel (up to 45 days for a panel to be appointed, plus 6 months for the panel to conclude).
Officially, the panel is helping the Dispute Settlement Body make rulings or recommendations. The panel’s final report should normally be given to the parties to the dispute within six months. The agreement describes in some detail how the panels are to work. Review: The period of review must not exceed two weeks. SPS - SPS Agreement CBT - Health and other WTO Agreements - The Agreement On Technical Barriers To Trade - Page 1. All Members have the right to develop mandatory product requirements for legitimate objectives. These legitimate objectives include the protection of human health or safety, the protection of animal or plant life or health, the protection of the environment, national security interests, and the prevention of deceptive practices. The Agreement lays out a number of principles which Members are to observe in the preparation, adoption and application of technical requirements, and the procedures to assess compliance with those requirements (known as conformity assessment procedures).
The first requirement is the non-discrimination principle. With respect to technical requirements, non-discrimination means that if a Member applies certain requirements to imported products, it has to apply the same requirements to like domestic products (national treatment). The second requirement is that of the avoidance of unnecessary obstacles to trade. The TBT Agreement and health back to top.
SPS - SPS Agreement CBT - Introduction to the SPS Agreement - The Basic Goals of the Agreement - Page 1. The SPS Agreement has a two-fold objective. It aims to both: Recognise the sovereign right of Members to provide the level of health protection they deem appropriate; and Ensure that SPS measures do not represent unnecessary, arbitrary, scientifically unjustifiable, or disguised restrictions on international trade. Indeed, the SPS Agreement allows countries to set their own food safety and animal and plant health standards.
At the same time, however, the SPS Agreement requires that such regulations be based on science, that they be applied only to the extent necessary to protect health, and that they not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate between countries where identical or similar conditions prevail. In order to achieve its objective, the SPS Agreement encourages Members to use international standards, guidelines and recommendations where they exist. World Trade Organization - Home page.
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