WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION

GENEVA

WIPO COORDINATION COMMITTEE

CHAIRMAN'S UNDERSTANDING

I. General principles

The selection of a candidate for Director General shall be guided by respect for the dignity of the candidates, as well as the countries nominating them, and transparency of the nomination process.

The nomination of a candidate for Director General should, if possible, be made by consensus. This will facilitate the appointment of the Director General by the General Assembly. However, it is recognized that voting will probably be a necessary means of building consensus for the nomination of a candidate.

Efforts to nominate a candidate via consultations leading to consensus are welcome at any stage of the selection process, but such efforts should not unduly delay the decisionmaking process.

As all candidates have submitted detailed CV's no special/personal presentation of candidates is envisaged.

II. Right to vote

Agreement is established that, for the purposes of the procedures envisaged under this Chairman's understanding and for the purposes of the nomination of a candidate for Director General by the Coordination Committee, all the 66 members of the Coordination Committee mentioned in paragraph 2 of the Memorandum prepared by the International Bureau (WO/CC/XXXVII/INF/1, dated January 15, 1997) can exercise their vote.

III. Decision-making process

Before a formal vote is taken an indication of the relative support enjoyed by candidates may be assessed by means of a "straw poll." The "straw-poll" will be conducted in such a way that each member of the Coordination Committee which has a right to vote will mark its first and second choice on the list of candidates on his voting paper. Voting will be by Secret Ballot.

Formal voting by Secret Ballot will proceed in several steps, each time with adequate advance notice, in keeping with the spirit of the following illustrative example: after the first formal vote amongst all the ten candidates, participation in additional votes shall be restricted to the seven candidates having obtained the greatest number of votes. After the second formal vote, participation in additional votes shall be restricted to the five candidates having obtained the greatest number of votes. After the third formal vote, a short list will be established with three candidates having obtained the greatest number of votes. The exact dimension of each step, however, will be decided, after consultation, by the chair in the light of the number of candidates remaining at any given time.

If consultations on the basis of a shortlist are not progressing, the voting process will be continued. Following the vote on the candidates of the short list a final vote, will be restricted to the two candidates having obtained the greatest number of votes. The Coordination Committee would then, no later than March 19, take its final decision amongst two candidates according to Article 8, paragraph 6 of the Convention.

The Chairman of the Coordination Committee will communicate the name of the candidate for appointment to the post of Director General to the Chairman of the General Assembly.