Articles 2023

"I want to give you a potato." When I saw the message, my eyes started to tear up because I knew that giving me a bowl of cooked cassava was their way of showing gratitude for all the help I had given them and their restaurant business. As lawyers, we have been trained to think critically and ask questions. Unfortunately, these are not components that have been present in public education in Tanzania. But there are ways we can help.

Trade negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”) have become a hot topic in the Canadian federal election campaign both for the agreement's significance and timing. This article provides a summary of what each of the four main Canadian political parties has said publicly about the TPP.

Kimberley Byers and Sophie Chiasson provide an overview of the Supreme Court of Canada's recent jurisdictional decision in Chevron Corporation v Yaiguaje (2015 SCC 42) and the implications of the decision for human rights and access to justice.

On May 5th, 2015, the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) International Law Section (ILS) held a program entitled "Key Developments in International Investment Law and Investor-State Arbitration". This article provides a summary of the presentations and the key points of discussion.

Canada is participating in talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), one of the most ambitious trade and investment initiatives ever negotiated in the Asia-Pacific region. The twelve participating states represent a collective market of 792 million people and a combined GDP of $28.1 trillion (nearly 40 percent of the world economy). This article summarizes the potential implications of this agreement on Canadian businesses.

In March 2015, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice denied a claim of sovereign immunity by the King of Swaziland in relation to an interlocutory injunction to impound the King's luxury jet at a hangar in Huron Park over a matter of a $3.5 million debt. This article by Christopher Kalantzis summarizes this idiosyncratic case that brought international law and royal intrigue to small town Ontario.

A look at the European Union's Regulation (EU) No. 650/2012 and its impact on estate planning in Canada.

On February 5th, 2015 the OBA international Law Section hosted a joint program at the 2015 OBA Institute entitled “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the Critical Role of the Lawyer”. This article provides a summary of the key themes discussed during this lively session.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is revising two key CSR standards in 2015: The Principles of Corporate Governance, last revised in 2004; and the Guidelines on Governance of State-Owned Enterprises, last revised in 2005. This article summarizes the expected changes.

As a follow-on to some of the themes discussed at the ILS' program at the 2015 OBA Institute on "Corporate Social Responsibility and the Critical Role of the Lawyer", in this article Warren Ragoonanan discusses the Yaiguaje v. Chevron case as an illustrative example of the importance of sound legal advice in crafting an effective Corporate Social Responsibility policy.