The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body ended a decade of litigation on 9 June when it dismissed the last remaining legal challenge to Australia’s tobacco plain packaging laws.
The Appellate Body upheld a 2018 WTO panel ruling that plain packaging does not infringe international trade or intellectual property laws. It found that plain packaging is not more trade restrictive than necessary to achieve its public health objectives, and does not violate any international intellectual property obligations.
To discuss the implications of this landmark decision on health an international trade law, the McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer hosted a webinar on 16 July in partnership with Melbourne Law School’s Health Law and Ethics Network (HLEN). The webinar featured more than 120 participants, including presentations from experts trade and public health law from the McCabe Centre, Melbourne Law School, and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Presentations were followed by a live Q&A.
You can watch the full webinar here:
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