Long-running litigation between Uruguay, which has some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the world, and cigarette giant Philip Morris could have direct consequences for plain packaging legislation globally. Could it also pave the way for legal action in Europe?
While Uruguay has been celebrated by liberals around the world for its bold steps to regulate cannabis, with new rules taking effect this week, its similarly pioneering attempts to control smoking of another, legal plant – tobacco – has earned it powerful enemies.
El contexto actual, pasados ocho años de gobierno del Frente Amplio en Uruguay, es particularmente propicio para reflexionar acerca de las diversas condicionantes para la aplicación de estrategias de desarrollo económico, productivo y social.
Philip Morris International expects a decision to be made this month or next on a challenge by Uruguay as to whether an international tribunal set to hear bilateral investment treaty complaints has jurisdiction over the matter.
Uruguay faces its first hearings in the French capital this week in a lawsuit filed by US tobacco giant Philip Morris International against its anti-smoking laws, an official said on Monday.
Philip Morris asserts that fair and equitable treatment includes a right to a “stable and predictable regulatory framework” as well as rights under treaties in addition to customary international law.
One of the world’s biggest tobacco companies is launching a claim against Uruguay for considering the country’s legislation commercially damaging to the company. Philip Morris corporation has filed a claim at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World Bank branch.