What is the leadership structure of WTO?

Answer 1

The WTO is governed by the head committee, The Ministerial Conference. It consists of representatives of all WTO members. The executive work of the WTO is performed by the General Council that is responsible to the Ministerial Conference. This Council also has representatives from all member countries. The General Council functions in two forms, first, as the Dispute Settlement Body and as the Trade Policy Review Body The General Council delegates its work to three other major bodies - namely the Councils for Trade in Goods, Trade in Services and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property. Three more bodies have been established by the Ministerial Conference which report to the General Council. The Committee on Trade and Development and The Committee on Balance of Payments and The Committee on Budget.

Answer 2

The WTO has a complex institutional structure. At the highest level is the Ministerial Conference which sits only for a few days every two years. A level down is the General Council which exercises the powers of the Ministerial Conference between the latter's sessions. Exercising particular functions under discrete WTO agreements, the General Council also sits as the Dispute Settlement Body and the Trade Policy Review Body. There are also a number of specialised Councils, committees and working parties at lower levels in the structure.

The WTO Secretariat is headed by the WTO Director-General (currently Pascal Lamy). The WTO is however said to be 'a Member-driven' organization. This means that the Members - and not the Director-General or the WTO Secretariat - set the agenda, make proposals and take decisions. The Director-General and the WTO Secretariat act mainly as an 'honest broker' in, or a 'facilitator' of, the political decision-making processes in the WTO.