Tobacco Companies Start Legal Fight Against Gillard Government
The Gillard government’s claim to Big Tobacco not to start legal proceedings against Labor’s plain-packaging laws was ignored, with Philip Morris stating it has already served notice of a debate. The federal parliament adopted world-first laws that will demand all tobacco products to be sold in boring olive packages from December 2012. Health Minister Nicola Roxon promptly demanded tobacco companies to obey the given mandate.
“We understand that just as many smokers are addicted to smoking products the tobacco companies in their turn are addicted to litigation. But today I call them to respect the law, as both parties and houses have backed this legislation,” Ms. Roxon said. ut a day ago, Philip Morris declared that it had already launched legal actions using a bilateral investment treaty that Australia signed with Hong Kong about 20 years ago. Philip Morris informed the government of its plan in June, when it entered a three-month compulsory negotiation period on international trade law. The Marlboro cigarette producers declare that commonwealth is planning to steal the company’s cigarette brands in conflict with the investment treaty.
Philip Morris declared several days ago that losses could account to billions of dollars and the legal process could take more than three years. “In implementing the law today, we think that government has infringed an international treaty. Plain packaging will affect the value of our brands and there are several international business laws against that,” Philip Morris representative Chris Argent stated in an interview. But many legal experts state that things are not so clear. According to lawyer who has more experience than the majority of struggling cigarette companies in court, Peter Gordon, stated in a conference that Philip Morris was in fact on shaky ground.
Mr. Gordon states that the commonwealth wasn’t removing the property rights of tobacco firms but rather guaranteeing they weren’t used it wrongly to advertise smoking among children. Also, international law expert Don Anton underlined that public regulation for a public purpose direct or indirect expropriation of property “and therefore is not banned the investment treaty.” Philip Morris, the same as British American Tobacco Australia, plans to start domestic legal proceeding in the High Court of Australia.
Recently Ms. Roxon was asked if legal proceeding would postpone the launch of plain packaging. “We don’t think that there is need in such actions. But I do not plan to use any equivocation as we potentially face judicial proceedings in lots of different forums,” she concluded.