European Commission : Trade : Hearing officer

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Tackling unfair trade

Hearing officer

The EU Commission uses an independent mediator (Hearing Officer) to guarantee due process and the right of defence in trade proceedings.

For guidance on the hearings process, see Practical information

This web page is intended to offer guidance. It is not a legal text. It will be reviewed and updated periodically in the light of the evolution of the Hearing Officer's function.

The main roles of the hearing officer are:

Guarantor of rights of defence in trade proceedings before the EU Commission, to ensure that:

interested parties are duly heard, in writing and orally
all relevant arguments and facts presented by interested parties are duly considered
interested parties have access to the file
information is treated confidentially when necessary and business secrets are protected, and
the affairs of interested parties are handled impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time

Advisory role:

to advise the Director General for Trade at the Commission on issues related to due process and good administration
to present observations on any matter arising out of trade proceedings.

The hearing officer may be called upon by any interested party, including the authorities of any non-EU countries concerned, Commission departments and EU countries. He may act whenever there is reason to believe that the rights of defence of the interested parties have not been respected.

Why a hearing officer for DG Trade?

The creation of the hearing officer was a response to requests for greater transparency and impartiality, and reinforces the Commission's commitment to guaranteeing due process in trade proceedings. The function builds upon the existing legal framework.

The right of defence is a basic principle in trade proceedings and part of the right to due process in administrative proceedings enshrined in Article 41 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The possibility to refer a case to the hearing officer is an additional guarantee that these rights will be respected by the Commission.

Who is the hearing officer?

The hearing officer:

is an official of the Commission's trade policy directorate experienced in trade defence issues
works independently from the Commission departments
reports directly to the Director General for Trade.

The hearing officer has a thorough knowledge of the system from the inside, but does not conduct trade proceedings himself.

How to request the intervention of the hearing officer?

The hearing officer can be contacted informally at any time to discuss whether his intervention is needed. Then the interested party may submit the request for intervention which should be:

well substantiated, explaining why his intervention is needed to ensure the parties' rights of defence
in writing
in good time to ensure adequate time for him to prepare and for the Commission to take account of his proposals.

The hearing officer normally responds to requests within five working days to inform the requester of the intended course of action.

The hearing officer does not take binding decisions. Rather, he acts as a facilitator in the decision-making process. Since his intervention is part of the Commission's internal decision-making process, his recommendations, reports and the results of his contribution are not made public.