On 28 June 2018, the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel hearing the legal challenge to Australia’s tobacco plain packaging laws issued a decision in favour of Australia, dismissing all claims brought by Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Indonesia against the measure. The panel found that tobacco plain packaging was not more trade restrictive than necessary to protect public health, and that it did not infringe any obligations relating to the protection of intellectual property. The panel decision is a major victory for public health, and has important implications for legal challenges to tobacco plain packaging and other tobacco control measures in both domestic and international courts.

Our paper ‘The WTO Panel Report in Australia – Plain Packaging: Findings and Implications‘ analyses the key findings and themes of the panel report. A shorter initial summary of the case is available here, and further background to the dispute here. Documents associated with the dispute are available from the WTO website for each of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Indonesia.

We hope you find the paper to be a useful resource in your work.

Download the paper: The WTO Panel Report in Australia – Plain Packaging: Findings and Implications