General

1. Procedural issue: Amicus curiae brief

7.1 Before the first substantive meeting, the Panel received an unsolicited amicus curiae brief from Humane Society International and American University's Washington College of Law, accompanied by a letter dated 6 May 2010.

7.2 On 28 June 2010, the Chairman of the Panel informed the parties and third parties that it considered, in light of the Appellate Body's rulings in US – Shrimp, that it had the discretionary authority either to accept and consider or to reject information and advice submitted to it, and that it would accordingly treat this submission as it deemed appropriate. The parties and third parties were invited to provide any views they had in relation to the submission at the first substantive meeting. The parties and third parties were also reminded of the possibility of incorporating part or all of the information contained in the submission into their respective submissions and/or oral statements, subject to the provisions of the DSU and the Panel's Working Procedures.

7.3 At the first substantive meeting, the United States requested the Panel to review and consider the submission in its deliberations, in light of the relevant and useful information it contained which it believed could assist the Panel in understanding the issues in this dispute. In addition, in its responses to the Panel's questions, the United States referred to some of the information contained in the amicus curiae brief in support of its arguments.