Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Tabacco Investment Disputes – Public Policy, Fragmentation of International Law and Echoes of the Calvo Doctrine


Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

2012

Czech Yearbook of International Law, Vol. 3, 2012, 161 

Abstract:      
The following article examines Philip Morris’s recently initiated investment arbitrations. The tobacco corporation claims damages from Uruguay and Australia, for their adoption of regulatory measures alleged to limit the PM’s trademark rights. The disputes have intriguing implications for international investment law because they question the boundary between legitimate regulation for the promotion of public health, on the one hand, and investment protection, on the other. In the present article, the focus will be placed on possible invocation of non-investment international law in investment arbitrations. In particular, the WTO law (TRIPS Agreement) and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (“FCTC”) will be discussed. After a brief analysis of the states’ contentious measures and the investor’s claims, the methods for invoking non- investment law in investment disputes will be elaborated upon. In conclusion, the optimal manner for tribunals to consider the relevant provisions of TRIPS and the FCTC while interpreting the applicable BITs will be proposed. The allegations of the WTO law violations will be argued not to have merit. Finally, the possible policy implications of the disputes will be considered as well as the recent rejection of investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms in some states such as Australia.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 22
Keywords: investment arbitration, investment protection, investment disputes, fragmentation, WTO law, TRIPS, intellectual property, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, tobacco control, public policy, public interest
Accepted Paper Series 


Download This Paper


Suggested Citation

Ostřanský, Josef, Tobacco Investment Disputes – Public Policy, Fragmentation of International Law and Echoes of the Calvo Doctrine (2012). Czech Yearbook of International Law, Vol. 3, 2012, 161. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2164726

Contact Information

Josef Ostřanský (Contact Author)
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies ( email )
Rue de Lausanne 132
P.O. Box 136
Geneva, 1211

Switzerland

Fonte:http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2164726

No comments: