250. The Chairman recalled that, at the Seventh Session of the Ministerial Conference, Ministers had directed the TRIPS Council to continue its examination of the scope and modalities for complaints of the types provided for under subparagraphs 1(b) and 1(c) of Article XXIII of GATT 1994 and to make recommendations to their next Session. It was agreed that, in the meantime, Members would not initiate such complaints under the TRIPS Agreement. The eighth Ministerial Conference was to be held in Geneva on 15-17 December 2011.
251. He further recalled that, at the Council's meeting in June, he had indicated his intention to hold consultations on the issue with a view to enabling the Council to agree on its recommendation to the Ministerial Conference at the present meeting. While most delegations that he had consulted had indicated that their preference remained to determine non-violation complaints inapplicable to TRIPS, they had nonetheless been willing to compromise by agreeing to recommend the extension of the moratorium until the next Ministerial Conference. In particular, it had been suggested that the language should follow as closely as possible the language used by Ministers in their Decision of 2 December 2009 on "TRIPS Non-Violation and Situation Complaints". A few delegations had said that their view continued to be that the non-violation moratorium should expire. However, they had shown flexibility in being ready to engage with a view to reaching a decision.
