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Simon Lester

Simon Lester

Co-founder of WorldTradeLaw.net and China Trade Monitor. Non-resident fellow at the Baker Institute.

http://simonlester.com

Is There An International Economic Law "Super-Legislature"?

This is from University of Chicago law prof Brian Leiter: I propose to defend and explore three claims in this lecture. First, there is very little actual “law” in federal constitutional law in the United States, especially with respect to cases that end up at the U.S. Supreme Court:

The CAFTA Labor Panel's Procedural Ruling

The CAFTA panel set up to hear the U.S. complaint regarding Guatemala's enforcement of its labor laws has issued a procedural ruling. The basic question was, "how the panel should address, as a matter of procedure, a request by Guatemala for a preliminary ruling"? Guatemala

The EU Report on ISDS Public Consultations

The European Commission issued its report today on the public consultations it carried out on ISDS. (A fact sheet is here; press release is here). Commissioner Malmström held a press conference, but there didn't seem to be much interest. (I think you can watch it here). Only two

The Role of DSU Article 11 in WTO Appeals

A few months ago, in its China - Rare Earths report, the Appellate Body said this: 5.227 ... an Article 11 claim must be clearly articulated and substantiated with specific arguments, including an explanation of why the alleged error has a bearing on the objectivity of the panel's assessment.

Panel on Reshaping the Investor-State Dispute Settlement System

Here are some details on an upcoming event on ISDS here in DC: The Wilson Center will host a panel to examine practical suggestions for reform of the current system of resolving international investment treaty disputes. The increase in cases against States and their challenge to public policy measures has

Call for Submissions: Utrecht Journal of International and European Law

The Utrecht Journal of International and European Law has issued a call for submissions for its 81st edition on "General Issues in International and European Law." The call is here, and says in part: The Utrecht Journal of International and European Law is issuing a Call for Papers

Transparency in the TTIP

The EU is pushing transparency in the TTIP, and has now posted online some negotiating documents: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=1230 In my view, this is a positive development. There are some things you need to keep secret as part of a negotiation, but

TPA vs. TPP in U.S. Trade Politics

Victoria Guida of Politico reports: Matthew Goodman, a former White House adviser on Asia-Pacific issues, said Monday that he expects the political fight over the Trans-Pacific Partnership to happen mostly in the context of a vote on legislation to renew trade promotion authority. “I don’t think a

Guest Post: More on US-Carbon Steel (India) (DS436), and US-CVD (China) (DS437)

This is a guest post from trade lawyer Adarsh Ramanujan: In continuation of my earlier blog entry on the Article 12.7 jurisprudence arising from the Appellate Body Reports in US-Carbon Steel (India) (DS436), and US-CVD (China) (DS437), in this blog entry I will consider the discussions on

ISDS as International Judicial Revew

This is from an article by Eric Posner and Glen Weyl: Longstanding worries that judicial review interferes with democratic values, blocks publicly beneficial legislation, and can lead to backlash, have never gained a foothold. The article as a whole is interesting, but I'm not going to talk about