Fifteen years after the WTO TRIPS Agreement entered into force, international IP law and policy have moved on. Since the mid-nineties, countries interested in higher IP standards have successfully shifted IP negotiations away from WIPO and WTO towards Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). The trend...

In international law, the concept of sustainable development has an ambiguous meaning and several distinct connotations. Amongst those, the principle of integration and reconciliation of economic, social and environmental aspects functions as its core element. This principle finds support in...

The European Community (EC) is currently negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with several groups of developing countries. An element which the EC Commission likes to highlight is the objective of sustainable development. This article analyses the potential of this ‘presiding...

Reliance on statements issued by the Chairman of a WTO organ has its origins in the diplomacy-style decision making under the GATT 1947 and continues in the WTO. They have featured prominently in the debate concerning TRIPS and Public Health where their legal status and their role in...