Uruguay presents its defense against Philip Morris
Uruguay presents its defense against Philip Morris Printer friendly page Print This ShareThis
By Staff Writers, Telesur
Wednesday, Oct 15, 2014
The Uruguayan government presented its arguments on Monday in the dispute it has with the tobacco transnational Philip Morris, before the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington.
The head of the Uruguayan defense, the lawyer Paul Reichler, confirmed the presentation of the documents this Monday to the press agency AFP, although the documents, as well as the entire legal process, is still secret. Philip Morris did the same last May.
In July, the ICSID decided that it was entitled to rule on the case after Philip Morris accused Uruguay of violating a treaty of protection of investment signed with Switzerland, where the transnational company has its headquarters.
Philip Morris blames an anti-tobacco law approved in Uruguay that limits brands to one type each, and stipulated that warning messages must cover at least 80 percent of the packet.
Reichler said that the tobacco companies use all their power to keep the governments from informing the population about the effects of tobacco on health, including “arbitration over investments to obstruct or postpone the adoption of important measures of public health ... but Uruguay will not feel intimidated.”
More:
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/World+News/Latin+America/South+America/Uruguay