Simon Lester

This is from Laurens Ankersmit: So what are the main legal issues underlying ICS and EU law? It is clear that the Treaties in principle permit international agreements providing for state-to-state dispute settlement between the EU and third countries (such as the WTO’s dispute settlement body). Such state-to-state dispute

First it was some groups in Germany. Now someone in Canada is filing a constitutional challenge to CETA. The key documents are here. This is from the press release: The Plaintiffs central challenge is four-fold, namely that: (1) that the federal government does not have the constitutional authority to sign,

CETA has now been signed, although perhaps not yet sealed and delivered. The Joint Interpretative Instrument that helped CETA reach the provisional application stage (ratification is still a ways off) is here. I've been curious about what impact this instrument of interpretation will have on the interpretation of

CALL FOR PAPERS: The Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals Special Issue on THE DUTIES, RIGHTS AND POWERS OF INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATORS This special issue of the journal The Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals focuses on the duties, rights and powers of international arbitrators in investment

This is from the Washington Post: Liberal advocacy groups are preparing blacklists of candidates for appointments to a Hillary Clinton administration, with one organization even producing opposition research to torpedo contenders they consider too soft on Wall Street or other corporate interests. Planning for a Democratic victory on Nov. 8,

The EU has launched a selection process for the Appellate Body slot that will open up soon: The second and last term in office of Professor Peter Van den Bossche (Belgium) on the WTO Appellate Body is due to expire on 11 December 2017 and a vacancy will arise. The

Are people drawing any lessons from the troubles with CETA? There is still a long way to go with settling the scope of EU trade policy, with a court decision coming and political battles to be fought, and CETA may eventually be fully ratified in its current form. But even

No doubt you have all read about the problems the EU is having with ratifying CETA: After seven years of negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta), talks broke down on Friday. This followed a rejection of the deal by Wallonia. Exercising its right under the Belgian federal

This is from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln: The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has announced the three endowed chairs it will establish as the foundation of the Clayton K. Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance. The institute was launched in 2015 to prepare students to work at a time when national

This is from The Economist: Twentieth-century trade deals slashed tariffs. Newer ones between rich countries, such as CETA, focus on cutting other barriers to trade. After seven years of haggling, European negotiators dream of European toys and electrical products being sold straight to Canadians, without having to go through a