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Simon Lester

What Aspect of a Measure Should be Considered under the GATT Article XX Sub-Paragraphs? Some Criticism

In three comments on the last post, the Appellate Body's new approach to what aspect of a measure should be considered under the GATT Article XX sub-paragraphs is getting heavily criticized. In this post, I'm going to support some of that criticism, but then come to

What Aspect of a Measure Should be Considered under the GATT Article XX Sub-Paragraphs? (Follow-up)

Back in 2007, I posted the following: In its first decision, U.S. - Gasoline, the Appellate Body famously (relatively speaking) said: One problem with the [panel's] reasoning ... is that the Panel asked itself whether the "less favourable treatment" of imported gasoline was "primarily aimed

Cigarette Package Labelling, in Australia and the U.S.

If you'll be in London on June 29, Andrew Mitchell will be talking about Australia's plain packaging for cigarette legislation at the UCL's WTO Scholars' Forum: Next month the Australian Government will introduce legislation to require the plain packaging of tobacco products by

Combating Climate Change through Investment Arbitration

Can investment treaties be used to force governments to follow through on their climate change plans? From a new paper: In addition to the general non-commercial risks that may affect any foreign direct investment, low-carbon investments face specific risks related to the mechanisms of public support that states develop to

Investment Treaties and International Rights

A few posts ago, I asked: Of all the individuals, groups and other entities that are out there in the world, why do only "foreign investors" have access to this special international remedy? In the comments to my post, Mark Kantor said: Your question "why do only

Investor-State after the Australian Policy Change

In this paper, Luke Nottage is concerned that Australia's recent policy change with respect to investor-state might lead to a decline in investor-state provisions all around Asia. Here's the abstract: Treaty-based investor-state arbitration (ISA) has gradually become a more established part of the legal landscape in

Understanding PPMs at the WTO

In the Peter Fitzgerald paper mentioned in the last post, I saw a reference to this sentence in "Understanding the WTO": The WTO agreements are interpreted to say ... [that] trade restrictions cannot be imposed on a product purely because of the way it has been produced. See p.

The Seal Products Dispute and a Public Morals Defense

In a new paper, Peter Fitzgerald is skeptical of a GATT Article XX(a) "public morals" defense being successfully invoked by the EU as a justification for its seal products ban. Here's a key excerpt: Moreover, since import prohibitions are among the most trade disruptive measures

Dictionaries and Legal Interpretation

Speaking of the Appellate Body, which is known for (among other things) its use of dictionaries, here's an interesting NY Times piece on the U.S. Supreme Court's increasing use of dictionaries: In a decision last week in a patent case, Chief Justice John G. Roberts

More on Appellate Body Nominations

From Gary Hufbauer: The office of the US Trade Representative has taken the little noticed but highly unfortunate step of blocking Jennifer Hillman’s second term on the WTO Appellate Body. This is a bad omen, both for the World Trade Organization and the United States. ... The United States has