If pre-shipment inspection entities and exporters cannot resolve their disputes otherwise and at the earliest two working days after submission of the grievances in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (d) of Article 4, the following procedure shall normally be applied:
an exporter or pre-shipment inspection entity wishing to raise a dispute shall contact the independent entity referred to in Article 4 of the WTO Agreement on pre-shipment inspection and request the formation of a panel. The independent entity shall be responsible for establishing a panel. This panel shall consist of three members. The members of the panel shall be chosen so as to avoid unnecessary costs and delays. The first member shall be chosen from section (i) of the list provided for in the WTO Agreement by the pre-shipment inspection entity concerned, provided that this member is not affiliated to that entity. The second member shall be chosen from section (ii) of the list provided for in the WTO Agreement by the exporter concerned, provided that this member is not affiliated to that exporter. The third member shall be chosen from section (iii) of the list provided for in the WTO Agreement by the independent entity referred to above. No objections shall be made to any independent trade expert drawn from section (iii) of the list provided for in the WTO Agreement;
the independent trade expert drawn from section (iii) of the list provided for in the WTO Agreement shall serve as the chairman of the panel. The independent trade expert shall take the necessary decisions to ensure an expeditious settlement of the dispute by the panel, for instance, whether the facts of the case require the panellists to meet and, if so, where such a meeting shall take place, taking into account the site of the inspection in question;
if the parties of the dispute so agree, one independent trade expert could be selected from section (iii) of the list provided for in the WTO Agreement on pre-shipment inspection by the independent entity referred to in subparagraph (a) to review the dispute in question. This expert shall take the necessary decisions to ensure an expeditious settlement of the dispute, for instance taking into account the site of the inspection in question;
the object of the review shall be to establish whether, in the course of the inspection in dispute, the parties to the dispute have complied with the provisions of the WTO Agreement, and thus with the provisions of this Regulation. The procedures shall be expeditious and provide the opportunity for both parties to present their views in person or in writing;
decisions by a three-member panel shall be taken by majority vote. The decision on the dispute shall be rendered within eight working days of the request for independent review and be communicated to the parties of the dispute. This time limit may be extended upon agreement by the parties to the dispute. The panel or independent trade expert shall apportion the costs, based on the merits of the case;
the decision of the panel shall be binding upon the pre-shipment inspection entity and the exporter which are parties to the dispute.