Recent challenges to public health regulation such as Indonesia's challenge to the United States' tobacco flavouring ban in the World Trade Organization (‘WTO'), and the WTO and investment treaty challenges to Australia's plain tobacco packaging scheme, have raised common problems of evidence...

This chapter uses the Hong Kong-Australia BIT as a case study to illustrate how plain packaging measures are likely to fare in international investment law. It examines in detail the investment claim made by Philip Morris Asia Limited ('PMA') against Australia under the BIT, including matters...

Domestic screening of inbound foreign investment, often on the grounds of national security, has intensified in recent years. More countries are introducing such regimes, while others are expanding their sectoral scope or creating opportunities for retrospective screening. These developments...

This chapter outlines political, legal and economic aspects of Australia’s inward foreign investment screening regime, taking account of the historical development of the legislative framework and its practical implementation to date. Australian screening is characterised by high levels of...

Focusing on the agreements on trade in goods of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Multilateral Rules on Trade in Goods – Exceptions and Regulatory Autonomy outlines various provisions that grant WTO Members discretion in conforming with WTO rules. These include general exceptions (such as...

This article explores the distinction between law and fact in the context of dispute settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and, in particular, the limitation of appeals to issues of law pursuant to Article 17.6 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of...

As the World Trade Organization heads towards the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in December 2005 and the Appellate Body celebrates its 10th anniversary, it is worth reflecting on the proposals advanced in the ongoing review of the Dispute Settlement Understanding that relate specifically to...

Significant changes to Australia’s foreign investment screening policy came into effect in 2021, modifying the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth). These changes establish a framework for national security reviews of proposed foreign investments in Australia, including the...

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has brought its actions in the Federal Court against a franchisor alleging unconscionable conduct and breach of the Franchising Code of Conduct under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth). Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with the Franchising Code...

Socio-economic and political writers view the changing relationship between states and multinational enterprises (MNEs) from vastly different perspectives - exemplified in recent years by such dramatic and extreme titles as The Secret Empire: How 25 Multinationals Rule the World on the one hand...