Stand-Alone Posts

We are excited about our forthcoming symposium which centres the voices of amazing scholars from the Global South on the Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform. The written symposium will run from September 7th  2020.

This webinar focused on what possible directions what the ideal paths lie for a US/Kenya Free Trade Agreement that will benefit Kenya in all the areas it is negotiating with the United States. The experts panelists consider what constraints and possibilities the negotiating framework in the United States means for Kenya’s goals in the negotiations. In addition, the experts consider what lessons Kenya can learn from the United States, Mexico and Canada, (USMCA), Free Trade Agreement and how those lessons can translated into positive outcomes for Kenya.

On March 9 2018, the African Union Ministers of Trade approved the Declaration establishing the Agreement establishing African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA); a move that marked the creation of the largest Free Trade Area in the World. The Agreement seeks to create a single market for goods, services and movement of persons and investment among African countries thereby fostering intra-African trade, facilitating structural transformation of African economies and promoting sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development across the African continent. Whether this would turn out to be a significant positive development within the continent may largely depend on whether the broader issue is addressed- The continuous inclination of African States to explore the forest rather than tend the garden.

Tension between investment protection and right to regulate has not been resolved yet and it is even more dangerous when States take measures in order to target health, social and economic effects of the covid-19 pandemic. Facing investor-State dispute resolution reform, an approach from Martha Fineman's vulnerability theory is imperative. Placing human being (vulnerable subject) as the center of the analysis, right to regulate protection should be a pre-stage for building resilience from social institutions. Therefore, States would not be at risk of compromising their budgets in international arbitration or experiencing “regulatory chill

On August 25, 2020, from 3pm – 5pm WAT, the WIPO Nigeria Office in coordination with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre will host a practical webinar, “How to Resolve Entertainment Disputes through WIPO Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Options”.

COVID-19 generated a new buzz around our work and renewed interest in the study of vulnerability. Since then, we have reappraised our initial piece, with the intention of moving beyond its conceptual foundations toward a more practical and concrete application of the work. We realized however, that for many, there is curiosity around the TVI project, and ultimately what we are trying to achieve through it. In this reflective piece, we present briefly the TVI in a nutshell – its aims, methodology and conceptual premises – and then provide  initial thoughts on the way forward under our TVI project.

This symposium organized by the AfronomicsLaw with the assistance of Monica Victor focuses on the synergies between taxation and the digital economy in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Although the use of the plural on ‘provisions’, in the Transparency Mechanism could also be interpreted as meaning notification under GATT Article XXIV (for RTAs in goods) and GATS Article V (for RTAs in services) only, it remains an open question. Consequently, notification of the Protocol on Trade in Goods of the AfCFTA under both routes (GATT Article XXIV and Enabling Clause) would come as no surprise despite the dubious legality of such a practice.

This webinar is a follow-up to the recently concluded Taxation and the Social Contract in a Post-Pandemic Era: Domestic and International Dimensions Symposium which had 20 blog submissions. The Webinar panelists will deliberate on the following questions: has the social contract between the state and the governed in many states been broken? Can the broken social contract be repaired and what role can the law play in repairing the broken social contract? How should countries reform their tax law and policies to be self-sufficient, while ensuring representation and accountability? What is the role of international tax rules in national sufficiency and how should international tax rules be designed in light of fiscal sovereignty and equity?”

World Trade Organization (WTO) member states are moving towards increased reliance on renewable energy and are enacting domestic policies to encourage investment in renewable energy technology. These domestic policies have not escaped the scrutiny of other WTO members, who in some cases have commenced dispute resolution processes to resolve claims of non-compliance with WTO Agreements. This commentary discusses relevant decisions of the WTO dispute resolution bodies and the possible effect of these decisions on renewable energy in Africa.