117. The representative of Japan said that the lack of a common view on the essential elements of the remedy made the application of the non-violation clause unpredictable. In this sense, his delegation sympathized with the concern expressed by previous speakers and would be favourable to carrying out case studies on the kinds or types of possible non-violation claims. This sort of study would be practical and pragmatic. If WTO Members shared the view that certain types of governmental measures were covered by non-violation claims under the TRIPS Agreement, any Member could ascertain that such measures were to be avoided. On the other hand, if Members agreed that certain measures were not intended to be covered by non-violation claims, Members would be permitted to take such measures. Even if Members did not share the same view, each Member could ascertain the views of other Members and could judge whether or not to implement such measures and run the risk of dispute settlement procedures being initiated against them.
