5. The Organizational Structure and Decision-making of WTO
5. WTO的組織機構(gòu)與決策機制

為了更有效發(fā)揮WTO的作用、實現(xiàn)WTO的目標，依《建立WTO協(xié)定》和相關(guān)的協(xié)定或決議，WTO設(shè)立了一系列的常設(shè)或臨時性機構(gòu)。這些機構(gòu)除少數(shù)外（如紡織品監(jiān)督機構(gòu)TMB），一般由所有成員國的代表組成，并定期集會。其最高權(quán)力機構(gòu)是部長級會議，一般每兩年召開一次會議，就重要事項做出決定?？偫硎聲儆趫?zhí)行機構(gòu)，在兩次部長級會議休會期間，也承擔部長級會議的職能。當總理事會履行附件2或附件3職能時，它就是爭端解決機構(gòu)（DSB）或貿(mào)易政策評審機構(gòu)（TPRB）。在部長級會議與總理事會下，現(xiàn)設(shè)有五個相關(guān)委員會就相關(guān)問題進行審議和研究。它有三個分理事會，分別監(jiān)督多邊貨物貿(mào)易協(xié)定下的三個附件（附件1A、1B、1C）的實施情況。在三個分理事會下又設(shè)有若干委員會，如在貨物貿(mào)易理事會下，依有關(guān)協(xié)定設(shè)有11個委員會，在服務貿(mào)易理事會下也設(shè)有四個相關(guān)委員會或工作組。

為了實現(xiàn)其目標，WTO履行其職能的主要方面就是進行決策。在此方面， WTO仍沿用GATT所遵循的協(xié)商一致的原則。但又規(guī)定，當不能達成一致時，采用投票方式進行決策，一成員一票，一般事項只需簡單多數(shù)即可做出決定，就一些重要事項，如多邊貿(mào)易協(xié)定的解釋或授權(quán)豁免則要有四分之三多數(shù)才能決定。

就多邊協(xié)定的修正問題進行決定又有特別的方式。所有成員對任何協(xié)定、各分理事會對所管理的協(xié)定有權(quán)提出修正的建議，部長級會議通過協(xié)商一致，或在不能協(xié)商一致時通過三分之二多數(shù)的表決決定將其交由成員接受。不同條款修正案要生效，其所要求的接受成員所占比例是不同的，且其決定的效力也不一定相同。有的條款（有關(guān)WTO的決策機制、國民待遇條款與最惠國待遇條款），要求所有成員同意接受修正案才能生效。對附件1A、1C中改變成員權(quán)利義務的條款，以及附件1B（GATS）中的第一、二、三部分的修正案，需要三分之二成員接受才能對接受的成員生效，而且部長級會議在通過修正案時，可以通過四分之三多數(shù)票決定，成員不接受該案就要退出WTO（除非特別決議保留其成員資格）；對附件1A,1C中不會改變成員權(quán)利義務的條款，以及GATS中第四、五、六部分的修正案，三分之二成員接受后對所有成員生效。作為例外，對TRIPs協(xié)定進行修正，如果滿足協(xié)定第71條第2款的要求（提高知識產(chǎn)權(quán)保護水平），部長級會議通過后就直接生效。而對于附件2、附件3的修正案，則必須由部長級會議以協(xié)商一致的方式通過，通過后直接對所有成員生效。

5.1 The Organizational Structure of the WTO

5.1 WTO的組織機構(gòu)

The Organizational structure of the WTO is dominated by its highest authority, the Ministerial Conferencecomposed of representatives of all WTO members, which is required to meet at least every two years and which can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. The Ministerial Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements.

The day-to-day work of the WTO in between the ministerial conferences, however, falls to a number of subsidiary bodies; principally the General Councilalso composed of all WTO members, which is required to report to the Ministerial Conference. The General Council can also convene in two particular forms-as the Dispute Settlement Body（DSB）to oversee the dispute settlement procedures and as the Trade Policy Review Body（TPRB）to conduct regular reviews of the trade policies of individual WTO members.

The General Council delegates responsibility to three other major bodies-namely the Councils for Trade in Goods, Trade in Services and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The Council for Goods oversees the implementation and functioning of all the agreements covering trade in goods（Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement）, though many such agreements have their own specific overseeing bodies. The latter two Councils have responsibility for their respective WTO agreements（Annex 1B and 1C）and may establish their own subsidiary bodies as necessary. These three councils, again they consist of all WTO members, report to the General Council. Six other bodies report to the General Council. The scope of their coverage is smaller, so they are“committees”. But they still consist of all WTO members. They cover issues such as trade and development, the environment, regional trading arrangements, and administrative issues. The committee on Trade and Developmentis concerned with issues relating to the developing countries and, especially, to the“l(fā)east-developed”among them. The Committee on Balance of Paymentsis responsible for consultations between WTO members and countries which take trade-restrictive measures, under Articles Ⅻ and ⅩⅧ of GATT, in order to cope with balance-of-payments difficulties. Finally, issues relating to WTO's financing and budget are dealt with by a Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration. The Singapore Ministerial Conference in December 1996 decided to create new working groups to look at investment and competition policy, transparency in government procurement, and trade facilitation.

Each of the higher level councils has subsidiary bodies. The Goods Council has 11 committees dealing with specific subjects（such as agriculture, market access, subsidies, anti-dumping measures and so on）. Again, these consist of all member countries, also reporting to the Goods Council. The Services Council's subsidiary bodies deal with financial services, domestic regulations, GATS rules and specific commitments. At the General Council level, the Dispute Settlement Body also has two subsidiaries: the dispute settlement“panels”of experts appointed to adjudicate on unresolved disputes, and the Appellate Body that deals with appeals.

Each of the four plurilateral agreements of the WTO-those on civil aircraft, government procurement, dairy products and bovine meat establish their own management bodies which are required to report to the General council.

5.2 Decision-Making Mechanism of WTO

5.2 WTO的決策機制

5.2.1 The Consensus in Decision-making Mechanism of WTO

5.2.1 WTO決策機制中的協(xié)商一致原則

The WTO is“a rules-based, member-driven organization-with decisions taken by consensus among all member governments”. All decisions are made by the member governments, and the rules are the outcome of negotiations among members. The WTO Agreement foresees votes where consensus cannot be reached, but the practice of consensus dominates the process of decision-making. However, some people believe that although the WTO's consensus governance model provides law-based initial bargaining, trading rounds close through power-based bargaining favouring Europe and the U. S. , and may not lead to Pareto Improvement.

In this respect, the WTO is different from some other international organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. In the WTO, power is not delegated to a board of directors or the organization's head. Decisions of the Ministerial Conference and the General Council shall be taken by a majority of the votes cast, unless otherwise provided in the WTO Agreement or in the relevant Multilateral Trade Agreement. Decisions by the General Council when convened as the Dispute Settlement Body shall be taken only in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 4 of Article 2 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding.

5.2.2 Interpretations and Amendment of the WTO agreements

5.2.2 WTO協(xié)定的解釋與修正

Only the Ministerial Conference and the General Council shall have the authority to adopt interpretations of the WTO Agreement and of the Multilateral Trade Agreements. In this case they shall exercise their authority on the basis of a recommendation by the Council overseeing the functioning of that Agreement. The decision to adopt an interpretation shall be taken by a three-fourths majority of the Members.

Any Member of the WTO may initiate a proposal to amend the provisions of the WTO Agreement or the Multilateral Trade Agreements in Annex 1 by submitting such proposal to the Ministerial Conference. The Councils listed the WTO Agreement may also submit to the Ministerial Conference proposals to amend the provisions of the corresponding Multilateral Trade Agreements in Annex 1 the functioning of which they oversee.

Unless the Ministerial Conference decides on a longer period, for a period of 90 days after the proposal has been tabled formally at the Ministerial Conference any decision by the Ministerial Conference to submit the proposed amendment to the Members for acceptance shall be taken by consensus. If consensus is reached, the Ministerial Conference shall forthwith submit the proposed amendment to the Members for acceptance. If consensus is not reached at a meeting of the Ministerial Conference within the established period, the Ministerial Conference shall decide by a two-thirds majority of the Members whether to submit the proposed amendment to the Members for acceptance. Unless the provisions of paragraphs a, b or c apply, that decision shall specify whether the provisions of paragraphs d or e shall apply.

a. Amendments to the provisions of the following Articles shall take effect only upon acceptance by all Members：

Article Ⅸand Article Ⅹof the WTO Agreement；

ArticlesⅠand Ⅱof GATT 1994；

Article Ⅱ:1 of GATS；

Article 4 of the Agreement on TRIPS.

b. Except as provided in paragraph a. above, amendments to Parts I, Ⅱ and Ⅲ of GATS and the respective annexes shall take effect for the Members that have accepted them upon acceptance by two thirds of the Members and thereafter for each Member upon acceptance by it. The Ministerial Conference may decide by a three-fourths majority of the Members that any amendment made effective under the preceding provision is of such a nature that any Member which has not accepted it within a period specified by the Ministerial Conference in each case shall be free to withdraw from the WTO or to remain a Member with the consent of the Ministerial Conference. Amendments to Parts Ⅳ, Ⅴ and Ⅵ of GATS and the respective annexes shall take effect for all Members upon acceptance by two thirds of the Members.

c. Amendments to the Agreement on TRIPS meeting the requirements of paragraph 2 of Article 71 thereof may be adopted by the Ministerial Conference without further formal acceptance process.

d. Except as provided in paragraphs a, b and c, the provisions of next paragraph shall apply to the proposed amendment, unless the Ministerial Conference decides by a three-fourths majority of the Members that the provisions of paragraph e shall apply.

Amendments to provisions of the WTO Agreement, or of the Multilateral Trade Agreements in Annexes 1A and 1C, other than those listed in paragraphs a and c, of a nature that would alter the rights and obligations of the Members, shall take effect for the Members that have accepted them upon acceptance by two thirds of the Members and thereafter for each other Member upon acceptance by it. The Ministerial Conference may decide by a three-fourths majority of the Members that any amendment made effective under this paragraph is of such a nature that any Member which has not accepted it within a period specified by the Ministerial Conference in each case shall be free to withdrawfrom the WTO or to remain a Member with the consent of the Ministerial Conference.

e. Amendments to provisions of the WTO Agreement or of the Multilateral Trade Agreements in Annexes 1A and 1C, other than those listed in paragraphs a and c, of a nature that would not alter the rights and obligations of the Members, shall take effect for all Members upon acceptance by two thirds of the Members.

Any Member accepting an amendment to this Agreement or to a Multilateral Trade Agreement in Annex 1 shall deposit an instrument of acceptancewith the DirectorGeneral of the WTO within the period of acceptance specified by the Ministerial Conference.

f. Any Member of the WTO may initiate a proposal to amend the provisions of the Multilateral Trade Agreements in Annexes 2 and 3 by submitting such proposal to the Ministerial Conference. The decision to approve amendments to the Multilateral Trade Agreement in Annex 2 shall be made by consensus and these amendments shall take effect for all Members upon approval by the Ministerial Conference. Decisions to approve amendments to the Multilateral Trade Agreement in Annex 3 shall take effect for all Members upon approval by the Ministerial Conference.

g. The Ministerial Conference, upon the request of the Members parties to a trade agreement, may decide exclusively by consensus to add that agreement to Annex 4. The Ministerial Conference, upon the request of the Members parties to a Plurilateral Trade Agreement, may decide to delete that Agreement from Annex 4.

h. Amendments to a Plurilateral Trade Agreement shall be governed by the provisions of that Agreement.

5.2.3 Granting the Waiver of Obligation

5.2.3給予義務豁免

In exceptional circumstances, the Ministerial Conference may decide to waive an obligationimposed on a Member by the WTO Agreement or any of the Multilateral Trade Agreements, provided that any such decision shall be taken by three fourthsof the Members unless otherwise provided for in this paragraph, which including：

a. A request for a waiver concerning the WTO Agreement shall be submitted to the Ministerial Conference for consideration pursuant to the practice of decision-making by consensus. The Ministerial Conference shall establish a time-period, which shall not exceed 90 days, to consider the request. If consensus is not reached during the timeperiod, any decision to grant a waiver shall be taken by three fourths of the Members.

b. A request for a waiver concerning the Multilateral Trade Agreements in Annexes 1A or 1B or 1C and their annexes shall be submitted initially to the Council for Trade in Goods, the Council for Trade in Services or the Council for TRIPS, respectively, for consideration during a time-period which shall not exceed 90 days. At the end of the time-period, the relevant Council shall submit a report to the Ministerial Conference.

A decision by the Ministerial Conference granting a waivershall state the exceptional circumstances justifying the decision, the terms and conditions governing the application of the waiver, and the date on which the waiver shall terminate. Any waiver granted for a period of more than one year shall be reviewed by the Ministerial Conference not later than one year after it is granted, and thereafter annually until the waiver terminates. In each review, the Ministerial Conference shall examine whether the exceptional circumstances justifying the waiver still exist and whether the terms and conditions attached to the waiver have been met. The Ministerial Conference, based on the annual review, may extend, modify or terminate the waiver.

Decisions under a Plurilateral Trade Agreement, including any decisions on interpretations and waivers, shall be governed by the provisions of that Agreement.

部長級會議。

WTO的組織機構(gòu)是由其最高權(quán)力機構(gòu)，即部長級會議所左右的。它由所有WTO成員的代表組成，要求第兩年至少開會一次，有權(quán)就任何多邊貿(mào)易協(xié)定下的任何事項做出決定。

總理事會。

爭端解決機構(gòu)。

貨物貿(mào)易理事會、服務貿(mào)易理事會及與貿(mào)易有關(guān)的知識產(chǎn)權(quán)理事會。

貿(mào)易與發(fā)展委員會。

支付平衡委員會。

預算、金融與行政委員會。

帕累托改進，即通過這種安排能使某些成員的處境變得更好，但不會有成員因此而變壞。Given an initial allocation of goods among a set of individuals, a change to a different allocation that makes at least one individual better off without making any other individual worse off is called a Pareto improvement.

WTO協(xié)議的解釋與修正。

除了上述a 項以外對GATS第一、二、三部分及其相應附件的修正，在以三分之二多數(shù)通過后，即對已接受的成員生效，對以后接受的成員也生效。

（從TWO中）退出。

部長級會議可以以四分之三多數(shù)做出決定，使在本項下的修正具有這樣一種性質(zhì)，即在部長級會議對每種情況指定的期限內(nèi)未接受修正的任何成員有權(quán)退出WTO，或經(jīng)部長級會議同意，仍為成員。

將接受書交存。

豁免（成員）某項義務。

A decision to grant a waiver in respect of any obligation subject to a transition period or a period for staged implementation that the requesting Member has not performed by the end of the relevant period shall be taken only by consensus.

在例外的情況下，除非本項另有不同規(guī)定，部長級會議可以以四分之三成員的贊成票決定豁免某個成員在《建立WTO的協(xié)定》，或其他任何多邊貿(mào)易協(xié)定下的義務。

授予一項豁免。