WTO upholds Australia’s tobacco plain packaging laws

The Dispute Resolution Panel has rejected the complaints by Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Indonesia against Australia’s tobacco plain packaging laws.

Summary (just outlines the provisions contested and rejected). The complainants had:

  1. not demonstrated that the TPP measures are inconsistent with Australia’s obligations under Article 2.2 of the TBT Agreement;
  2. not demonstrated that the TPP measures are inconsistent with Australia’s obligations under Article 2.1 of the TRIPS Agreement in conjunction with Article 6quinquies of the Paris Convention (1967);
  3. not demonstrated that the TPP measures are inconsistent with Australia’s obligations under Article 15.4 of the TRIPS Agreement;
  4. not demonstrated that the TPP measures are inconsistent with Australia’s obligations under Article 16.1 of the TRIPS Agreement;
  5. not demonstrated that the TPP measures are inconsistent with Australia’s obligations under Article 20 of the TRIPS Agreement;
  6. not demonstrated that the TPP measures are inconsistent with Australia’s obligations under Article 2.1 of the TRIPS Agreement in conjunction with Article 10bis of the Paris Convention (1967);
  7. not demonstrated that the TPP measures are inconsistent with Australia’s obligations under Article 22.2(b) of the TRIPS Agreement; and
  8. not demonstrated that the TPP measures are inconsistent with Australia’s obligations under Article 24.3 of the TRIPS Agreement.

Full text via here.

TRIPS Agreement

On to the Appellate Body?