I am writing to you pursuant to Article 17.5 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing
the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), which stipulates that, as a general rule, the Appellate Body will
circulate its report no later than 60 days after the appellant has formally notified the Dispute
Settlement Body (DSB) of its decision to appeal. Article 17.5 states, furthermore, that, when the
Appellate Body considers that it cannot provide its report within 60 days, it shall inform the DSB in
writing of the reasons for the delay together with an estimate of the period within which it will submit
its report.
Colombia notified the DSB on 22 January 2016 of its decision to appeal certain issues of law covered
in the Panel Report and legal interpretations developed by the Panel in this case, with the result that
day 60 in this proceeding falls on Tuesday, 22 March 2016. For the reasons expressed below, the
Appellate Body will not be able to circulate its report by this date, or within the 90-day timeframe
provided for in the last sentence of Article 17.5 of the DSU.
On the date this appeal was filed, there was another ongoing proceeding already being serviced by
the Appellate Body Secretariat, and the Divisions in these two appeals overlap. In addition, both of
these appeals require Spanish-speaking staff, of which the Appellate Body Secretariat has only a
limited number, as well as the translation into English of documents filed in Spanish, for
non-Spanish-speaking Appellate Body Members and staff.
The circulation date of the Appellate Body report in this appeal will be communicated to the
participants and third participants shortly after the oral hearing.
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