International litigation relating to ISDLaw includes cases before the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Justice, the World Trade Organization, the NAFTA dispute resolution bodies and processes, and national litigation with an international law dimension

Howard Mann has been advising government and non-government agencies on sustainable development-related litigation since beginning his career in the late 1980s with the Canadian Department of Justice. He has often sought to bring international law arguments to the national judicial process. More recently, he has advised government agencies and the private sector on litigation issues relating to trade law obligations in the hazardous waste area and on NAFTA’s investment provisions. Howard Mann currently represents the IISD in the groundbreaking intervention in the Methanex Corp. v. United States of America international investment law arbitration.

Some examples of Howard Mann’s work on ISDLaw-related litigation include:

Representing the International Institute for Sustainable Development in the intervention of Methanex Corp v. United States of America Howard Mann is currently representing the International Institute for Sustainable Development in its intervention in Methanex Corp v. United States of America. In a precedent setting decision, the Methanex Tribunal, acting under Chapter 11 of NAFTA, responded to the IISD petition for amicus status, and became the first international arbitration tribunal to recognize its jurisdiction to formally accept and use amicus briefs from civil society groups. For Howard Mann’s own comment on this global precedent see Opening the Doors. Background and documents relating to the IISD amicus petition can be found here.

Transboundary movements of hazardous wastes
Transboundary movements of hazardous wastes now provoke a steady stream of international and national litigation. Howard Mann has recently advised a Canadian provincial government involved in such a case.