1. The Fifteenth Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles was held from 10-14 April 2000 in Paris at the kind invitation of the Government of the French Republic. The session was chaired by M. Pierre Gabrié, Head of Service, Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes. It was attended by 247 delegates and representatives of 54 Member countries and 29 international governmental and non-governmental organizations. A complete list of participants at the Session, including the Secretariat, is given in Appendix I.
2. The Session was opened by M. François Huwart, Secretary of State responsible for Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry.
3. Mr. Huwart underlined the interest of the French government in the work of Codex Alimentarius particularly in relation to the new perspectives that applied to world trade. He clearly expressed the opinion that the precautionary principle should be regarded as an appropriate tool of risk management provided that it was not used as an excuse to establish unwarranted and arbitrary trade barriers. He also emphasized that legitimate factors other than strictly scientific data could not be ignored by governments and that the development of world trade could not take place without having regard to the legitimate rights of consumers. Finally, Mr. Huwart welcomed the revision of the Code of Ethics for International Trade in Food and noted that its observance was crucial to ensure the protection of all consumers and the use of fair trade practices. He stressed the necessity of ensuring that products that are exported to developing countries in particular should comply with international requirements of food quality and safety.
