3. The representative of India said that, while understanding the substance of the legal opinion, its logic and reasoning were not very clear to him. His delegation's preference would be to add a footnote to Rule 33 which would make it clear that this type of rule could not in any manner undermine the requirement of a provision in any agreement under the WTO that a decision could only be taken by consensus. There were provisions in the WTO Agreement relating to the powers of the General Council. As far as the subordinate Councils were concerned, when an Agreement provided for a decision by consensus, such a provision had to be respected and confusion should not be created by a procedure which would imply that a matter could be referred to another body even if there was no consensus. The second point he wished to make was that the appropriate course would not be to adopt the Rules of Procedure in their current draft and hold consultations thereafter. He proposed that the Rules of Procedure be adopted with the exception of Rule 33. Rule 33 could be taken up at some later stage and delegations should be given time for reflection and bilateral consultations on the matter.
