Digest

Digest

Developing Nations Doubt US Commitment to Trade Agreement

Two trade ministers from the developing world have publicly voiced doubts about the willingness and ability of the United States to reach a global trade agreement during 2010.  Their criticism calls into question the ability of leaders of the G20 nations to follow through on their September 2009 promise to conclude a trade agreement this year.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, South African trade minister Rob Davies cited the presence of relatively junior American officials at an ongoing round of trade talks and American refusal to base its present bargaining positions on prior compromises reached as part of the Doha Development Round negotiations as evidence that the United States is unlikely to be part of any trade agreement reached this year.  Davies also noted domestic political opposition as a factor in American hesitancy to reach a trade deal.

Rachid Mohamed Rachid, trade minister of Egypt, also recently stated that he doubted that the United States would be part of a trade agreement this year.

Developing nations had been pressing the World Trade Organization for an agreement limiting industrialized nations’ ability to subsidize agricultural exports, among other provisions.  Such an agreement now appears unlikely.

For more information, please click here.

Digest

Justice Albie Sachs Speaks at HLS: Friday, February 5

Justice Albie Sachs, who served on the Constitutional Court of South Africa until October 2009 and author of the recently published book The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law, will speak at Harvard Law School on February 5 at 3:00 pm in Austin North.

The program is sponsored by the Harvard Law School Office of the Dean, International Legal Studies Program, and Office of Public Interest Advising.

For more information, please click here.

Digest

Optimistic Prospects for ECtHR Reform

Speaking at a press conference in Strasbourg, Jean-Paul Costa, President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), expressed three reasons for optimism about reform measures for the Court in 2010.

Firstly, the Treaty of Lisbon opens the way for the European Union’s participation in the European Convention on Human Rights, strengthening the role of human rights in Europe. Dedicated “to enhancing the efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the Union and to improving the coherence of its action,” the treaty was written in 2007. It entered into force in December 2009, a month after it was ratified by the last remaining member of the European Union, the Czech Republic. The treaty amends the Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty Establishing the European Community into a constitutional-type document intended to strengthen and guide the European Union.

Secondly, in January Russia ratified Protocol 14 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, which is designed to overhaul the procedures of the ECHR. Russia was the last of the forty-seven members of the Council of Europe to ratify the Protocol, which has been on the table since 2006.

Finally, in February 2010 a conference on the future of the ECHR will be held in Interlaken, Switzerland. The conference will draw together member states to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ECHR and to reaffirm their commitment to the protection of human rights in Europe, while outlining a roadmap for the Court’s future development. Currently, more than 100,000 cases are pending before the Court.

For further information, please click here, here, and here.

Digest

China enters ASEAN-China FTA ready to cooperate

On January 1st 2010, a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) took effect. The newly formed FTA is the third largest in the world, with a GDP of $6.6 trillion and a population of 1.9 billion. Prior to the agreement in 2008, China was ASEAN’s third-largest trading partner.

Despite the concerns of members like Indonesia over the impact that the agreement will have on domestic industry, ASEAN is confident that China will act cooperatively in order to ensure mutual gains. The State Councilor of the People’s Republic of China, H.E. Dai Bingguo, recently met with the ASEAN Secretariat to discuss China’s commitment to aid in the transition process, confirming China’s position in a speech before more than 300 dignitaries. This was the first time that a high-level Chinese Diplomat visited the ASEAN Secretariat.

Further, as the Secretary General of ASEAN notes, there are mechanisms such as anti-dumping safeguards in the FTA to protect the domestic markets of ASEAN member states.

For further information, please click here.

Digest

Comments Welcome: USITC to evaluate proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership

The United States is interested in pursuing a free trade agreement, which will be known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.  As a result, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has asked the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to investigate the likely economic effects of removing duties and non-tariff barriers on product imports from TPP countries.  The probable effects of eliminating tariffs on specific agricultural products are also under investigation. While conducting this analysis, the USITC will use the 2010 Harmonized Tariff Schedule and 2008 trade data.

The USTIC is asking the public for input as it explores the potential effects of the TPP. A public hearing will take place on March 2, 2010 in Washington, D.C., and written submissions for the record will be accepted until March 23, 2010. The USITC’s report to the USTR should be completed by early June.

For further information, please click here.

Digest

ECtHR Holds Bosnian Constitutional Provisions Violate European Convention on Human Rights

On December 22, 2009, the European Court of Human Rights issued its ruling in Sejdic and Finki v. Bosnia and Herzegovina. In its opinion, the court held that the Bosnian Constitution, which requires that the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Presidency be solely composed of persons belonging to the three constituent peoples (Bosniacs, Croats, and Serbs), discriminates against ethnic minorities and infringes electoral rights in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. In order to prevent the government from adopting legislation contrary to the wills of any of the constituent peoples, the drafters of the Bosnian Constitution created a second legislative chamber (the House of the Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly) composed of five members of each of the constituent peoples, and a collective Presidency composed of one member of each of the constituent peoples. In this case, a Jew and a Rom complained that the Bosnian Constitution and the Election Act of 2001 barred them from being candidates for office in the Presidency and the House of the Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly, even though they possess experience comparable to the highest elected officials, because they refuse to declare affiliation with any of the constituent peoples.

The European Court of Human Rights acknowledged that the power-sharing mechanisms of the Bosnian Constitution were justifiably designed to achieve the aim of restoring peace to a war-torn country rife with ethnic conflict; however, it also noted that the country has made considerable progress in the fourteen years since the Dayton Peace Agreements. The court further noted the existence of other power-sharing mechanisms that do not require the exclusion of ethnic minorities not belonging to the three constituent peoples from high public office. As a result, the court found that the rule prohibiting non-constituent peoples from holding office in the House of the Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly violated Article 14 of the European Convention on human rights (prohibiting discrimination in the enjoyment of rights guaranteed by the Convention) read in conjunction with Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 (guaranteeing the right of free elections). The court also found that the constitutional rule prohibiting the applicants from running for President violated Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 (prohibiting discrimination in the enjoyment of any right set forth by law). In terms of remedy, the court held that the finding of a violation provided just satisfaction with regards to the plaintiffs’ non-pecuniary injuries, and ordered the State to pay 1,000 Euros to the first applicant and 20,000 Euros to the second to cover their costs and expenses.

For further information, please click here.

Scroll to Top