Court condemns tobacco giant Philip Morris over secret bid to sue Australia

[Eugene]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Court condemns tobacco giant Philip Morris over secret bid to sue Australia

Agence France-Presse
Tuesday 17 May 2016 00.43 BST

An international tribunal has unveiled a secret ruling confirming it rejected a bid by tobacco giant Philip Morris to sue Australia over its plain packaging laws, calling the attempt “an abuse of rights”.

In its heavily redacted 186-page ruling dating from 17 December 2015, the permanent court of arbitration said it had no jurisdiction over the case brought by Philip Morris.

In 2012 Australia became the first country to mandate that cigarettes must be sold in plain packages, in an attemp to reduce smoking rates. This initiative has since been followed by other nations including France and Britain.

But big tobacco firms including Philip Morris have launched legal challenges against such laws, arguing the rules impinge on their trademark intellectual property.

Philip Morris, manufacturers of some of the world’s most recognisable brands, including Marlboro, lodged the challenge with the arbitration court based in The Hague in 2011 after the plain-packaging legislation was passed, using a 1993 trade deal between Australia and Hong Kong that included foreign investment protections.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/17/court-condemns-tobacco-giant-philip-morris-over-secret-bid-to-sue-australia

[Fairgo]

1. Australia is slowly getting control over tobacco addiction

That's what we are talking about by the way...an addictive drug that is marketed for profit to low information populations that use it to self medicate.