The Department of Legal Studies cordially invites you to
'Negotiating a Trade Agreement with the EU: The Cautionary Tale of the Canada-EU CETA’
a lecture by
Armand de Mestral
May 25, Thursday, 2017, 2.00 p.m., room 302, Nádor u. 13
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is expected to enter into force provisionally on July 1, 2017. CETA is a major achievement for both sides and has the potential to serve as a model for future ambitious free trade agreements for other states in the future. The negotiating phase required the usual amount of time and political will. However the process of adoption in the EU has proved to be exceptionally complex and fraught with unexpected political difficulties. Even at this late stage the parties have only been able to agree on provisional application. The whole process has revealed a number of political and legal uncertainties surrounding the capacity of the EU to commit itself to trade treaties even with close allies.
Bio: Armand de Mestral, Emeritus Professor, McGill University, Jean Monnet Chair in Law; Co-Director McGill - Université de Montréal, Institute of European Studies 2002- 8; Interim Director, Institute of Air and Space Law McGill University, 1998-2002; Senior Fellow CIGI 2014- ; Recent publications : International Law 7th Ed, 2006 ( co-author), Law and Practice of International Trade (2nd edition; 1999) ; The North American Free Trade Agreement – A Comparative Study, Hague Academy of International Law , Receuil des cours (2000) Panelist and arbitrator in disputes under WTO, CUFTA and NAFTA. Member of the Canadian Delegation to the UN Law of the Sea Conference 1973 -80. Consultant to NACEC and Law Commission of Canada. President, Canadian Red Cross Society 1999-2001. Appointed Member of the Order of Canada December 28, 2007.