Articles

Matthew Kronby, recipient of the 2017 OBA Award of Excellence in International Law, explains how the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement will offer opportunities for Canadian businesses to expand into the European Union and reduce their export dependency on the United States.

This article provides an overview of the key features of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the process for implementation, and its timelines.

Xela Enterprises Ltd et al v Castillo et al is the leading case on how to serve a document on a party residing in a country that is not a signatory to the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters.

In two recent international arbitration cases, Philip Morris challenged new cigarette packaging regulations in Australia and Uruguay that it argued violated certain bilateral investment treaties signed by the countries. The arbitral tribunals sided with the state in both cases. What does this mean for tobacco companies and state regulatory and legislative autonomy in the future? In this article, James Rendell discusses the two decisions in the context of changing regulatory environments.

The Bahamas presents an opportunity for businesses to expand into new markets. It is a jurisdiction with easy access to major North America markets, no corporate tax, and legal standards similar to Canada’s. However, before in order to consider the opportunities and challenges of relocation, it is necessary to address the elephant in the room: the “Panama Papers" and surrounding issues.

On April 11, 2016, the OBA International Law section hosted a program featuring remarks from Alan Lenczner, founding partner at Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffen LLP, Peter Jervis, senior counsel at Rochon Genova LLP and Luis Sarabia, senior partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. The session was moderated by Kim Bernhardt, principal at Bernhardt Arbitration and Mediation. This article provides an overview of some of the key points discussed and takeaways from this session.

Greg Kanargelidis and Zachary Silver provide an analysis of the CITT decision in Stylus Sofas, in which the Tribunal considered whether certain furniture designed for use in hotels was intended for domestic purposes, and confirmed that the test to be applied is the intended use of the goods in issue, as opposed to their actual use. The case provides noteworthy lessons about the evidence that importers should maintain to establish intended use.

It has been three years since the negotiations for the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) started and despite the optimism of official statements, there has been little progress on certain contentious issues between the EU and US. One of the main challenges is Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). This article provides an overview of the European position on ISDS and how it will affect the prospects for successful conclusion of TTIP.

January 16, 2016 marked "Implementation Day" for the historic nuclear non-proliferation and sanctions reduction agreement between the P5+1, the European Union, and the government of Iran. Canadian companies are poised to become significant players in Iranian markets, provided that the government of Canada takes prompt action to amend its Iran sanctions program to level the playing field for Canadian businesses competing with foreign companies for these new opportunities.

The recent proliferation of affirmative threat of injury findings by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) indicates problems with the CITT's approach to its threat of injury analyses. The CITT's findings are vulnerable to challenge and being determined by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body to violate Canada's international obligations. In this article, Jesse Goldman and Laura Murray of Bennett Jones discuss the details of this concerning trend.