Transnational Bodies

India Files WTO Complaint over US Visa Changes

March 10, 2016

India has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization ("WTO") arguing that the US violated its commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services treaty by increasing fees on various applicants for temporary working visas in the country.
Academic Criticizes CETA Investment Court Proposal

March 09, 2016

Professor David Schneiderman of the University of Toronto writes that the international investment court proposed as part of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement ("CETA") does little more than the investor-state dispute settlement system, present in many trade deals, to prevent arbitration that is overly friendly to foreign investors.
Proposed Canada-EU Trade Deal Constructs Investor Court

March 02, 2016

Politico reports that negotiators of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement have agreed to replace a provision creating an investor-state dispute settlement system, a common feature in modern trade agreements, with a permanent arbitration court for investors that EU leaders hope will serve as a tribunal for all of the bloc's global trade deals.
US-EU Deal Creates Ombudsperson for Data Complaints

March 02, 2016

Reuters reports that a deal struck between the US and the EU to replace the previous Safe Harbor framework on transatlantic data transfers creates an Ombudsperson at the US State Department who handles European complaints on all types of data transfers between the parties and organizes an "alternative dispute resolution mechanism" to solve grievances.
WEF Article Seeks Way Forward for Global Governance

February 29, 2016

Two staff members at the World Economic Forum ("WEF") write on the WEF website that global governance systems must be adaptable and pragmatic to survive in the current world and that actors must establish a kind of governance that incentivizes long-term over short-term interests.
Article Calls for Reintegration of Cuba at IMF

February 24, 2016

Centre for International Governance Innovation ("CIGI") Senior Fellow James Boughton argues that, following up on the closer relationship between the US and Cuba under President Barack Obama, the US should make clear to Cuba that it will not seek to block any application from the country for membership at the International Monetary Fund ("IMF").
Huizinga: ICC Shows European Commitment to Global Governance

February 24, 2016

Todd Huizinga of the Acton Institute writes that the commitment of EU members to the empowerment and expansion of the International Criminal Court ("ICC") and the US's disaffection with the institution demonstrate a growing clash between the US and Europe on the use of global governance to solve world problems that may one day become irresolvable.
OSCE Calls for Election Reforms in Canada

February 11, 2016

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe ("OSCE") has called for numerous reforms to the Canadian electoral system following its parliamentary elections in 2015, including by strengthening "the equality of the vote between constituencies" and by putting in place a "legal basis" for international observation of the country's elections.
OECD Warns Countries on Political Finance Rules

February 10, 2016

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD") has released a report warning member countries that they must tighten regulation and enforcement of rules on political finance, including "loopholes" such as spending by third parties, in order to "restore trust in democracy."
WEF Seeks Global Governance to Capitalize on Technologies

February 10, 2016

Chriss Street writes that the recent World Economic Forum ("WEF") in Davos focused on how world actors from governments, business, and nongovernmental organizations could confront the coming "Fourth Industrial Revolution," involving "profound" advances in technology, to remain ahead of the curve in global regulatory governance.