WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: International tribunal upholds states’ rights to protect health through tobacco control
“An international tribunal has upheld the sovereign authority of states to protect health through tobacco control. The World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has confirmed that tobacco control measures applied by the government of Uruguay did not violate the terms of an investment agreement between Uruguay and Switzerland, under which the dispute was initiated. … The tribunal’s award affirms that parties to the WHO FCTC can confidently implement the convention and its guidelines to protect present and future generations from the devastating consequences of tobacco consumption” (7/12).