WTO appeal likely

An appeal is expected to be made by one or more of the complainants that referred Australia to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the country’s introduction of plain tobacco packaging, according to Professor Tania Voon of the Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne.
It has been widely reported, including here, that the WTO recently ruled in favor of Australia.
In a lengthy piece on the Intellectual Property Watch website, Voon said that scholars and professionals in intellectual property, trade and public health were likely to be digesting the 900-odd page WTO Panel Reports in Australia – Tobacco Plain Packaging, circulated on June 28, for some time.
‘An appeal by one or more of the complainants (Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Indonesia) is expected, to be launched between 20 and 60 days after circulation, in accordance with the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU, Art 16),’ she said.
‘Although Australia won the dispute in its entirety, the country could also choose to appeal certain intermediate findings of the Panel, such as its interpretation or application of particular WTO provisions.’
Voon went on to say that, in theory, an appeal would take an additional 90 days, but that the duration of appeals had been significantly higher in recent years, especially in more complex cases. And Australia – Tobacco Plain Packaging was a highly complex case, involving record numbers of third parties (e.g. 38 in the complaint brought by Honduras) and voluminous evidence presented on both sides (e.g. as summarised in the 150-page Appendices to the Panel Report).
Voon’s piece goes on to give details of the Panel’s decisions and the reasons behind those decisions.