NGO DEVELOPMENTS
IN THE WTO SHRIMP-TURTLE CASE
(September, 1997)
During the oral argument before the Shrimp-Turtle Panel, held in Geneva on September 15-16, the U.S. government adopted, in part, the amicus brief filed by CIEL and partner organizations.
CIEL is promoting public participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement system. On September 17, 1997 CIEL and partner organizations -- the Center for Marine Conservation, Red Nacional de Accion Ecologica (RENACE) of Chile, the Environmental Foundation Ltd of Sri Lanka, and the Philippine Ecological Network -- filed an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief before a WTO dispute panel to support a U.S. ban on shrimp caught by methods that kill endangered sea turtles.

The NGO amicus brief provides factual and legal information critical to the panel's deliberations. It describes the dramatic decline of sea turtle populations due to shrimp harvesting and the role of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in protecting sea turtles. It also analyzes environmental treaties and principles of customary international law which support a broad reading of the WTO's environmental exceptions and thus allows the U.S. measures to protect endangered sea turtles.

Part of the NGO brief is before the Panel. The U.S. delegation attached the Statement of Facts from the NGO brief to their submissions. While this provides the Panel with important factual information, it does not clarify the role of public participation in the WTO dispute settlement system. CIEL is still pressing for a formal ruling by the Panel that the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding permits the submission of amicus briefs by NGOs independently of government delegations.

The importance of public participation in the WTO dispute settlement system is described in the Motion to Submit the Amicus Brief.

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