Simon Lester

From the WTO: Following a request from the participants in the disputes European Communities — Measures Prohibiting the Importation and Marketing of Seal Products (EC — Seal Products)(WT/DS400 / WT/DS401), the Appellate Body in these appellate proceedings has decided to open the oral hearing to public observation by delegates of

From the NY Times: A top-secret document, obtained by the former N.S.A. contractor Edward J. Snowden, shows that an American law firm was monitored while representing a foreign government in trade disputes with the United States. ... The government of Indonesia had retained the law firm for help in

Should the U.S. adopt the precautionary principle?  Should the EU rely more on cost-benefit analysis? Or maybe this is a better question: Does U.S. and EU regulation rely on anything that could reasonably be called cost-benefit analysis or the precautionary principle? These are questions that come to mind

This is from the draft CETA investment chapter I mentioned yesterday: 2. A Party breaches the obligation of fair and equitable treatment referenced in paragraph 1 where a measure or series of measures constitutes: ... d. Targeted discrimination on manifestly wrongful grounds, such as gender, race or religious belief; This provision

... is here: http://www.tradejustice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/CETA-Draft-Investment-Text-Nov21-2013-203b-13.pdf It's fascinating, in a lot of different ways.  Read it and enjoy, if you like this sort of thing.  I'll mention some personal highlights based on a quick skim: -- it doesn't

I think we are all still puzzling over what to make of the Appellate Body's reasoning in the Canada - Renewable Energy/FIT case.  Luca Rubini has some thoughts in a new paper.  Here's an excerpt: the fact that the market is even fundamentally distorted, to

In the comments, Tom Miles of Reuters asks a great question, one that I had been wondering about: I've been thinking about the question of tobacco control legislation from the perspective of a nascent marijuana industry, and would be interested to know if any of your readers think

From the FT: A marijuana hangover is starting to hit the beer industry. At the beginning of last month, Colorado became the first US state to allow the sale of pot for recreational use. The end of pot's prohibition has rattled the beer industry for years, raising fears

From the EU's other appellant submission in EC - Seal Products: 284. The European Union appeals the Panel's finding that it "do[es] not consider that the legal standard with respect to the non-discrimination obligation under Article 2.1 of the TBT Agreement 'equally

This is from what looks like a fairly recent (November 2013) leaked draft of the CETA text: Article x-14: Claims Manifestly Without Legal Merit 1. The respondent may, either no later than 30 days after the constitution of a tribunal pursuant to Article x- (Constitution of Tribunal) and in any