Following up on this old post, apparently the Swiss government has decided to spend the money necessary to keep the WTO headquartered in Geneva:
The Swiss government says it will give SFr45 million ($43 million) for the renovation and expansion of the World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva.
In a statement on Friday the cabinet said that it had agreed with the WTO on long-term renovation plans that would cost a total of SFr130 million.About half will be funded through interest-free loans that the WTO will have to pay back within 50 years. Switzerland will pay the rest of the bill.
Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said that as a city hosting international organisations, Geneva faced fierce competition from other cites, including Bonn and Vienna.
...
The Neue Zuercher Zeitung newspaper reported last year that the WTO was threatening to move to Hong Kong, Singapore or elsewhere if the Swiss refused to meet the organisation's demands.
Putting aside the issue of whether these payments violate WTO rules (probably not, because there is not much connection to trade in goods), here's what I wonder: If another Member brought a claim, would the WTO's conflict of interest rules get in the way? Panelists and Secretariat staff working on disputes are paid by the WTO itself, and the Rules of Conduct for the DSU, which apply to both groups, provide:
Each person covered by these Rules (as defined in paragraph 1 of Section IV below and hereinafter called "covered person") shall be independent and impartial, shall avoid direct or indirect conflicts of interest and shall respect the confidentiality of proceedings of bodies pursuant to the dispute settlement mechanism, so that through the observance of such standards of conduct the integrity and impartiality of that mechanism are preserved.
http://www.worldtradelaw.net/misc/rulesconduct.pdf I think it would be tough to be impartial in these circumstances. Can you really be objective when judging something that affects your employer?
