ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the actions that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Members and the WTO Secretariat have taken to increase transparency, and highlights the existing limitations that need to be pushed forward should Members decide to change the situation as it stands today. It outlines the history of non-governmental organization (NGO) relations with the WTO, traces the evolution of this relationship through the adoption of guidelines on NGO participation and the Singapore Ministerial Conference, and discusses the recent proposal of the Director-General in this context. The chapter examines transparency, publication and notification requirements in the WTO Agreement, and provides a context to understand the scope of NGO claims for greater transparency. It discusses the participation and influence of NGOs and other non-governmental interest groups in the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO. The chapter focuses on the participation of non-governmental interest groups in the policy-making leading to WTO provisions and in the work of the WTO generally.
