Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

International Trade Law

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

WTO

Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Law

The New Tobacco Products Directive And Wto Law: Much Ado About Nothing?, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Mar 2015

The New Tobacco Products Directive And Wto Law: Much Ado About Nothing?, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

The article analyses the compatibility of various regulatory mechanisms provided by the new Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) with the requirements of WTO law, in particular those included in the TBT and TRIPS Agreements. After introducing basic provisions of the directive and summarizing the concerns raised by some WTO Members during meetings of the TBT Committee and the TRIPS Council, the article discusses in more detail the merits of those claims. It finds that concerns expressed by the WTO Members are generally overstated, as most TPD provisions, except for the temporal menthol exception, are WTO compatible. The article also notes that …

Go to article

Australian Plain Packaging Law, International Litigations And Regulatory Chilling Effect, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Jan 2014

Australian Plain Packaging Law, International Litigations And Regulatory Chilling Effect, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

Introduction of plain packaging law by Australia in 2012 was met with strong opposition from transnational tobacco companies (TTCs). While advocates of the law see it as a logical step in governmental efforts to curb tobacco use and improve public health in Australia, TTCs claim that the new law is scientifically unsound, overly intrusive and that it infringes a number of international law provisions relating to trademark and property protection. Some TTCs, either directly or indirectly,have decided to test the Australian measure before international tribunals. Although, these challenges are connectedwith interests held by TTCs in Australia, they should be seen …

Go to article

The Tbt Agreement And Tobacco Control Regulations, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Oct 2013

The Tbt Agreement And Tobacco Control Regulations, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

The article analyses reports issued by the panel and the Appellate Body in the US – Measures Affecting the Productions and Sale of Clove Cigarettes dispute and attempts to assess their broader consequences for national tobacco control policies. Both reports are particularly important because they clarify the limits existing under WTO law, in particular the TBT Agreement, in this policy space. In this context, the article investigates whether the WTO dispute settlement bodies interpreted relevant rules of the TBT Agreement in a manner that provides countries with sufficient regulatory autonomy while ensuring at the same time that their technical measures …

Go to article

The Reach Regulation And The Tbt Agreement: The Role Of The Tbt Committee In Regulatory Processes, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Dec 2012

The Reach Regulation And The Tbt Agreement: The Role Of The Tbt Committee In Regulatory Processes, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

The REACH Regulation is one of the most complex regulatory frameworks ever designed by the EU. The Regulation intends to comprehensively address, for the first time in history, the health and environmental risks posed by chemicals. It imposes certain registration, evaluation and authorization requirements for both imported and domestically produced chemical substances. On international level, the Regulation has been met with strong criticism coming from many of the EU’s trading partners. Although countries in general have acknowledged the legitimacy of the objectives sought by the EU, they have expressed numerous concerns regarding the necessity and proportionality of the new system. …

Go to article

Standard Of Review Of Health And Environmental Regulations By Wto Panels, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Dec 2012

Standard Of Review Of Health And Environmental Regulations By Wto Panels, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

This chapter assesses the applicable standard of review in sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) disputes with complex factual issues. In particular, the chapter analyzes how the new deferential standard, set out by the Appellate Body (AB) in US/Canada - Continued Suspension of Obligations in the EC – Hormones Dispute, is actually applied in practice (determining reasonableness of risk assessment, not its correctness). To this end, the AB report in Australia – Measures Affecting the Importation of Apples from New Zealand is scrutinized. The conclusion is reached that although the applicable standard of review under the SPS Agreement (particularly under Articles 2.2 …

Go to article

The Who Framework Convention On Tobacco Control As An International Standard Under The Tbt Agreement?, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Nov 2012

The Who Framework Convention On Tobacco Control As An International Standard Under The Tbt Agreement?, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

In this article Lukasz Gruszczynski argues that there are good grounds for considering the Guidelines to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (‘FCTC’) relevant international standards under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (‘TBT Agreement’). The structure of the article is as follows: (1) Part I provides an overview of the relevant sections of the TBT Agreement and its ambiguities with respect to defining an international standard; (2) Part II sets out the aims, purpose and governance structure of the FCTC; (3) In light of the overviews of the TBT Agreement and the FCTC, Part III then considers whether …

Go to article

Re-Tuning Tuna? Appellate Body Report In Us – Tuna Ii, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Sep 2012

Re-Tuning Tuna? Appellate Body Report In Us – Tuna Ii, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

Under the TBT Agreement, a labelling requirement can be qualified as a technical regulation, and not as a standard, even if it does not constitute a precondition for placing a product for sale on the relevant market. Examination of “no less favourable treatment” under Article 2.1 requires determining whether a measure modifies the conditions of competition in the relevant market to the detriment of imported like products, and whether such detrimental impact stems exclusively from a legitimate regulatory distinction rather than reflecting discrimination against the group of imported like products. The evaluation of whether a measure is more trade-restrictive than …

Go to article

Customary Rules Of Interpretation In The Practice Of Wto Dispute Settlement Bodies, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Dec 2011

Customary Rules Of Interpretation In The Practice Of Wto Dispute Settlement Bodies, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

The WTO dispute settlement bodies tend to follow the instructions of Articles 31-33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). The customary rules that are embodied in these articles constitute a point of reference for both the panels and the Appellate Body in their interpretation of WTO provisions. This paper identifies a number of cases, however, where the dispute settlement bodies appear to deviate from the holistic approach promoted by the VCLT. In particular, these include instances of extensive reliance on text (to the exclusion of other elements such as context and purpose), application of a sequential …

Go to article

United States - Certain Measures Affecting Imports Of Poultry From China. Just Another Sps Case?, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Jan 2011

United States - Certain Measures Affecting Imports Of Poultry From China. Just Another Sps Case?, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) may apply to budgetary measures if they are motivated by SPS concerns. Equivalence-based measures are subject to the regular disciplines of the SPS Agreement, including but not limited to Article 4 SPS. This means that WTO Members, when engaging in the recognition process, need to observe other SPS provisions such as the requirement of a scientific risk assessment (Articles 5.1-5.3) or the quasi-consistency obligation of Article 5.5. A measure which has been found inconsistent with certain provisions of the SPS Agreement (e.g. Articles 2 and 5) cannot be …

Go to article

How Deep Should We Go? Searching For An Appropriate Standard Of Review In Sps Cases, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Dec 2010

How Deep Should We Go? Searching For An Appropriate Standard Of Review In Sps Cases, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

Although the applicable standard of review under Articles 2.2/5.1 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) is not de novo, investigation by WTO panels is nevertheless quite intrusive in terms of objectivity and coherence of risk assessment. Moreover, the panel’s review does not end with the final conclusion reached by the WTO Member in its risk assessment; it also extends to the quality of the reasoning employed and the intermediate interferences that led to the conclusion. If a WTO Member relies on expert judgment in its risk assessment, this needs to be sufficiently transparent …

Go to article

The Sps Agreement Within The Framework Of Wto Law. The Rough Guide To The Agreement’S Applicability, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Sep 2008

The Sps Agreement Within The Framework Of Wto Law. The Rough Guide To The Agreement’S Applicability, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

This article analyzes the problem of applicability of the SPS Agreement and its relationship with the TBT Agreement and GATT 1994. In this context, special attention is given to the panel report in EC – Biotech Products. The reason for such an approach is twofold. First, it was the first panel which comprehensively analyzed the conditions of applicability of the SPS Agreement, and second, some parts of its analysis are disappointing and not well reasoned. This article recognizes that the conditions of applicability of the SPS Agreement were conceptualized by the case law very broadly. The author, while accepting parts …

Go to article

Ec Incentive Arrangements For Sustainable Development And Good Governance (Gsp Plus) And Wto Law – Critical Analysis, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Aug 2008

Ec Incentive Arrangements For Sustainable Development And Good Governance (Gsp Plus) And Wto Law – Critical Analysis, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

This article analyses the current general system of preferences of the EC in order to assess its conformity with the international obligations imposed by law of the World Trade Organization. The analysis is carried out in light of the recent WTO ruling, which found the old system of preferences incompatible with WTO law. In this context, the article argues that some aspects of the new system relating to special incentive arrangements for sustainable development and good governance may potentially conflict with the requirements of international trade law.

Go to article

Sps Measures Adopted In Case Of Insufficiency Of Scientific Evidence – Where Do We Stand After Ec-Biotech Products Case?, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski May 2008

Sps Measures Adopted In Case Of Insufficiency Of Scientific Evidence – Where Do We Stand After Ec-Biotech Products Case?, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

This article analyzes the disciplines established by Article 5.7 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. The analysis is based both on the text of the SPS Agreement as well as on the existing case law with the special consideration given to the panel’s ruling in EC – Biotech Products. The article criticizes the approach of the case law to the issue of applicability of Article 5.7 as it confuses the applicability with the consistency. The article argues that it is more appropriate to view the SPS Agreement as providing for three mutually exclusive paths of …

Go to article

The Role Of Science In Risk Regulation Under The Sps Agreement, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Mar 2006

The Role Of Science In Risk Regulation Under The Sps Agreement, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

This paper attempts to present a comprehensive and coherent picture of the role performed by science under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement and SPS case law. It argues that the approach adopted by the Appellate Body is predominantly based on a technical paradigm, supplemented, however, with some considerations arising from other paradigms. The paper argues that the approach adopted in the case law is generally compatible with the text of the SPS Agreement and provides a coherent SPS system. However, it also identifies certain areas which lack coherence, as certain standards seem to violate the right of the …

Go to article

Science In The Process Of Risk Regulation Under The Wto Agreement On Sanitary And Phytosanitary Measures, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski Jan 2006

Science In The Process Of Risk Regulation Under The Wto Agreement On Sanitary And Phytosanitary Measures, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

This article attempts to present a comprehensive and coherent picture of the position occupied by science under the SPS Agreement and in the SPS case law. It claims that the approach adopted by the Appellate Body reflects the explicit language of the SPS Agreement and is predominantly based on a technical paradigm. In consequence, science plays a critical role in distinguishing between legal and illegal SPS measures. The article argues that such an approach is generally compatible with the text of the SPS Agreement and provides a coherent SPS system. However, it also identifies certain areas, which lack coherence, as …

Go to article