Key issues

Policy Brief 36, February 2017

Gandhi: Walking with us today

Gandhi, his writings and his words are as relevant as ever today as when he lived.   This is the theme of the Sixth Gandhi Memorial Lecture presented by Gurdial Singh Nijar, a prominent Malaysian lawyer and former law professor, and organised by the Gandhi Memorial Trust, Malaysia.   The text of the lecture, which was presented in Kuala Lumpur in October 2016, is published in this policy brief.

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Analytical Note, January 2017

The WTO’s Discussions on Electronic Commerce

The WTO has a 1998 Work Programme on E-commerce. This Work Programme provides for the discussion of trade-related issues relating to electronic commerce to take place in the relevant WTO bodies: the Council for Trade in Services; the Council for Trade in Goods; the Council for TRIPS; and the Committee for Trade and Development. The General Council was envisaged to play a review or oversight role. (more…)

Analytical Note, May 2016

Key Substantive and Process Issues Arising from the WTO’s Nairobi Ministerial Conference (MC10)

Despite concerted attempts by major trading partners to bury the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in Nairobi, they were unsuccessful. Part I of this paper provides a legal reading of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration (NMD) as it pertains to the DDA, and also discusses other legal questions regarding the conclusion of the DDA. (more…)

Analytical Note, May 2016

Assessing the WTO’s Nairobi Package (MC10)

This paper provides an overview of the Decisions that came out of the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC) in Nairobi taking into account the interests and concerns of developing countries.

The Nairobi package includes Decisions on (more…)