Lawrence Herman appeared before the House of Commons Trade Committee, at their request, on 5 May 2016, to present testimony on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). The following are notes from Mr. Herman tabled with the Committee. Lawrence L. Herman Notes for Presentation, 5 May 2016 Introduction The following are general comments on the TPPA… Read More »
The collapse of the Doha Round a couple of years ago left the World Trade Organization with an unfortunate legacy, a wounded reputation as a negotiating forum as 10 years of effort essentially went up in smoke. Funeral rites for the Doha Round are now accepted by all save the most steadfast of believers. This… Read More »
A note – many years ago I was head of the Treaty Law Section in the old Department of External Affairs. What follows deals with the kinds of issues I covered on a daily basis, coming back into prominence so many years later. Signing the Agreement – What Does That Do? There’s been a fair… Read More »
I was quoted in a Globe and Mail article by Shawn McCarthy, 24 March 2015, reporting on Canada’s loss in a NAFTA arbitration over a quarry and marine terminal that the Province of Nova Scotia refused to approve: There is a growing concern in legal circles that the arbitration panels are expanding their mandate –… Read More »
I just published a short article on the current controversy regarding the rights of investors to invoke binding dispute settlement proceedings again host governments. This is known as Investor-State Dispute Settlement or ISDS and is enshrined in hundreds of bilateral investment protection treaties around the world. The issue has recently come to the fore with… Read More »
Prime Minister Harper and EU President Barroso have signed the formal text of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Don’t be surprised when I tell you that this isn’t the final step. It isn’t. Under the Law of Treaties (yes, there is such a thing) signature by authorized representatives is a necessary first… Read More »
There is growing debate about foreign investment protection agreements – what Canada calls “FIPAs”, the Americans call bilateral investment treaties or “BITs” and what others refer to simply as international investment agreements or “IIAs”. Acronyms abound. According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, there are 3,200 of these around the world, proliferating in… Read More »