WIPO Programme/Budget Committee Concludes Work

The World Intellectual Property Organization Programme and Budget Committee finished its work for the year with the acceptance of a proposed mechanism to insert member governments more fully into WIPO’s budget processes. The committee also heard updates on proposed new construction and an assessment of all WIPO jobs.

According to participants in the 11-13 July meeting, the committee approved a proposal for a new mechanism under which the WIPO secretariat would submit draft budgets to the Programme and Budget Committee in advance for input. The new mechanisms, one until 2007 and the other for all future budgets beginning with the 2008-2009 biennium, include several additional checkpoints in the budget preparation. The proposal would now presumably go before the WIPO General Assembly in late September.

According to the secretariat report adopted at the meeting, a discussion arose between Nigeria and Brazil over the mandate of the Audit Committee. Brazil said the development of a mechanism for greater involvement of member states in WIPO’s programme and budget is the mandate of the full Programme and Budget Committee, not the Audit Committee, which does not represent all member governments.

On the desk-to-desk assessment of jobs, a discussion was held over a WIPO proposal to require the external firm tasked with conducting the review to “validate” its understanding of the “world IP environment” in which WIPO operates.

Argentina took issue with the suggestion that the firm be judged against a strategic plan produced by the WIPO director general and not yet approved by member governments. Brazil added that there are different perceptions of the world IP environment even among member states.

Switzerland, speaking on behalf of the Group B developed countries, said the assessment should be limited to WIPO’s current mandate as a broader analysis could further delay the project unnecessarily. Switzerland also repeated a request that the WIPO secretariat submit a final review to the 2007 General Assembly, the annual meeting of members held each autumn.

Nigeria suggested that the Audit Committee and the WIPO secretariat could perform the desk-to-desk review rather than an outside entity, but this met with some resistance, according to one official.

The committee also took note of the WIPO progress report on construction (IPW, WIPO, 12 July 2006).