Arcuri: The coproduction of the global regulatory regime for food safety standards and the limits of a technocratic ethos
septiembre 30, 2014
Este artículo de Alessandra Arcuri, publicado como un EUI Working Paper, muestra cómo la regulación de la OMC influyó en la forma de actuar del Codex Alimentarius y supuso un límite para los Estados respecto de los estándares de seguridad alimenticia. El trabajo también revela las formas de creación de los postulados científicos y sostiene que los caminos de la OMC y el Codex Alimentarius tienden a confluir en una misma dirección donde se mezclan la ciencia y los valores democráticos. Muy interesante.
The coproduction of the global regulatory regime for food safety standards and the limits of a technocratic ethos
Alessandra Arcuri
Abstract
Several socio-legal scholars have studied how the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) was empowered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and how, under this transition, its standards became quasi-binding. What has gone less studied is how the WTO has transformed the very modus operandi of Codex. In particular, it has been argued that the WTO has infused Codex with a technocratic ethos. Building on this scholarship, this article investigates the dynamic relationship between the WTO and Codex and the evolving role of expert knowledge in the global regime for food safety standards. The article’s main thesis is that technocracy (as the rule of the knowers) is an unsustainable regulatory paradigm in the field of global food safety standards, as evidenced by the controversial ractopamine case, discussed in the article. The article concludes by arguing that the global food safety regime is turning towards a paradigm that marries science with democratic values.
Libro descargable: The History and Future of the WTO
septiembre 30, 2014
Me entero a través de un post de Marc Benitah en IELP blog que está disponible para descargar gratuitamente el libro de Craig VanGrasstek «The History and Future of the WTO» (2013).
Video conference on Bali and the Future of the WTO
enero 13, 2014
Now! at the European University Institute with Rob Howse, Petros Mavroidis and Bernard Hoekman. Here http://www.eui.eu/SeminarsAndEvents/live.aspx
ESIL Conference 2014 in Vienna: Call for Papers on «Trade and Investment between International and European Law»
octubre 28, 2013
Richard Teschner, Kleine Stadt, 1903. Österreichische Galerie Belvedere
The call for papers or posters for the ESIL Vienna Conference on 4-6 September 2014 includes:
Agora 3: Trade and Investment between International and European Law
Trade and investment are core issues at the crossroads of international and European law. The EU has gradually expanded its trade competences and succeeded into its member states’ position in global trade arrangements like the GATT and other WTO agreements. Most recently, the take-over of member state powers in the field of concluding investment treaties with third parties has led to contested new external powers of the EU. Trade and investment issues are meanwhile litigated before a multiplicity of fora, such as the WTO dispute settlement system, regional trade agreements, the Court of Justice of the EU, investment arbitration tribunals as well as national courts. Host states invoke EU law as a defence in investment cases and traders try to rely on international law before regional and national courts.
This agora will analyze the frictions and bridges between the global and the regional, between international and European law, in regulating common problems at different levels. It will also focus on the role of international law in the European legal order addressing trade and investment disputes and vice versa.
The deadline for proposals for papers or posters is 15 January 2014.
TDM Call for papers «Legal Issues in Tobacco Control»
julio 6, 2012
TDM announces a forthcoming TDM special issue on Legal Issues in Tobacco Control. Here is the information:
This special issue will examine legal issues surrounding international related disputes arising from tobacco regulation and control. This is a particularly urgent topic for examination in view of the ongoing investment arbitration claims launched against Australia in relation to its plain tobacco packaging measure and against Uruguay in relation to its own tobacco packaging and labeling regulations, as well as the consultations commenced by Ukraine and Honduras with Australia in the World Trade Organization (WTO) — the first step towards a formal WTO dispute concerning plain packaging. The recent WTO Appellate Body decision concerning the United States’ prohibition on characterizing flavors in cigarettes other than tobacco and menthol also provides relevant material for reflection.
Possible questions for consideration in this special issue include:
- What challenges are States facing against health-directed tobacco control measures in domestic and international courts and tribunals?
- How do the prospects of success in domestic claims compare with those in international claims?
- Do current international trade and investment laws adequately protect States’ regulatory sovereignty with respect to tobacco control and other public health measures?
- What lessons should States draw for future international trade and investment negotiations from the current challenges to tobacco regulation?
- What are the implications of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control for international challenges to tobacco regulation?
- Does the problem of regulatory chill threaten the achievement of national and international health objectives?
- What additional obstacles do developing countries face in responding to threatened or actual legal challenges to tobacco regulation, and how can these obstacles be best overcome?
This special issue will be edited by Professor Andrew Mitchell (Melbourne Law School) and Associate Professor Tania Voon (Melbourne Law School).
Please address all questions and paper proposals to the editors, see here for contact info.
Publication is planned for late 2012. Paper proposals of up to 300 words should be submitted as soon as possible. The Editors will select papers at their discretion. If selected, full papers of up to 6000 words including footnotes will be due by September 15, 2012.
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