Simon Lester

From what I can tell, Australia has usually been pretty good about transparency in terms of its WTO dispute and investment arbitration proceedings.  It generally posts its submissions online. But as Investment Arbitration Reporter tells us, it is holding back on the briefs in the plain packaging investment arbitration, because

From a Canadian news article published in October of last year: There's a new pothole on the long, bumpy road towards a Canada-Europe free trade deal: whether human rights and weapons of mass destruction should be addressed in a side agreement to the overall pact. Diplomats from

Now that the plain packaging WTO panel has been composed, here are some issues that I've been wondering about related to the case: * If a ban on using trademarks on the product itself violates the TRIPS Agreement, does a ban on advertising -- which includes a ban on using

Here are the last three WTO complaints (before today): * In December of last year, we had Russia bringing a complaint against EU cost adjustment methodologies and anti-dumping measures (DS474). * Then on April 8, the EU complained about Russian measures on the import of live pigs and pork products (DS475)

Just announced: Chairperson: Mr Alexander Erwin Members:    Mr François Dessemontet, Ms Billie Miller Erwin (South Africa) was on the Renewable Energy/Feed-in Tariff panel; Dessemontet (Switzerland) was on Section 211 many years ago.  Miller (Barbados) is a first time panelist.  Some biographical info for her is here. ADDED: To

From the Japan Times: The European Union is insisting on a human rights clause linked to a proposed economic partnership agreement (EPA) with Japan, it was learned Monday. In negotiations between the EU and Japan on a strategic partnership agreement (SPA), which are held in parallel with their EPA talks,

Here's a brief rundown of what's going on in the China - Rare Earths dispute, which involves three separate complaints -- DS431 (US); DS432 (EU); and DS433 (Japan) -- that were merged into one panel proceeding, and resulted in three panel reports circulated in a single document. As we

From the University of Aberdeen: Technology has a key role in addressing the contemporary challenges of society, from health to communications to energy. These are global issues, given the location of key natural resources in developing countries, and the nature of the markets for health, communication and energy.  Development and

As this blog's readers are well aware, I've taken an interest in international investment law in the past few years, and am skeptical of the existing system. My Cato colleague Dan Ikenson has doubts as well.  But beyond our specific criticisms, we would really like to

This is from Roger Alford at Opinio Juris: despite the assumption that international trade disputes must be resolved before the WTO DSB, the existence of broad umbrella clauses in BITs present a promising vehicle for enforcing investment commitments in trade agreements. ... umbrella clauses in BITs could create a private right