Uruguay: five key messages from Philip Morris’ failed challenge to packaging laws

Hot on the heels of the tobacco industry’s failed legal challenge to the UK’s tobacco plain packaging laws in May 2016, Philip Morris suffered a new defeat in July, this time in its long-running case against Uruguay’s health warning labels.

The McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer has prepared a paper outlining key aspects of the judgement which are relevant for other governments planning to implement similar legislation to meet their obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

The key points explored in detail in the analysis are:

  1. Uruguay’s measures did not substantially deprive Philip Morris of its investments or frustrate any expectations related to those investments
  2. States have a right to regulate in the public interest, including for public health
  3. It is not the role of investment tribunals to second-guess policy decisions, particularly where the evidence is complex or contested
  4. The WHO FCTC and its Guidelines add legal and evidentiary weight in support of states’ tobacco control measures
  5. Public health is an important normative value in investment law adjudication

Full details, including the paper can be found here: http://www.mccabecentre.org/blog/who-fctc-implementation-after-philip-morris-v-uruguay-five-key-messages-from-the-award.html

More analysis:

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