Bennett Gastle welcomes Ezgi Guzel!  Ezgi is from Turkey and graduated from the University of Ankara Faculty of Law and is currently a Ph.D student within the same faculty. In Canada she is completing research for her thesis on multicultural citizenship policy in constitutional law.  Ezgi is completing her internship at Bennett Gastle and enjoys having professional experience in a foreign country.

Chuck Gastle has been retained to provide advice regarding international competition law to the Government of Thailand. His first technical mission is now scheduled for late January, 2009. This builds upon the consulting work related to World Trade Organization intellectual property issues in the Kingdom of Cambodia that the firm has been involved in since 2005. This work is described on the “ Cambodia ” area of our website.

Welcome Jennifer Hadad to Bennett Gastle!  Jennifer, from Nice, France, is a graduate of the Law University of Nice and currently is attending the Barrister School of Marseille to become a lawyer. She has decided to do her internship in Toronto to improve her English and engage in the diverse culture of Canada.  

Chuck teaches International Trade Regulation at Osgoode Hall Law School. The course will cover the WTO, its structure, the manner in which it deals with trade in goods, services, intellectual property and investment. It will also deal with key issues such as restrictions on domestic regulation, health, labour and environmental protection. It will also deal with the treatment of Developing Countries and Least Developing Countries, and will draw upon Chuck’s experiences  working in the Kingdom of Cambodia. The course will be taught four hours per week throughout the Fall.

Chuck is in Cambodia to give a series of workshops at the Royal University for Law and Economics in Phnom Penh. The lectures involve the draft Law on Undisclosed Information and Trade Secrets and the Law on Compulsory Licensing for Public Health. Chuck took a leading role in drafting these laws with representatives of the Kingdom of Cambodia ’s Departments of Commerce, Health, Mines & Industry and Justice.  Apart from drafting the laws, Chuck has also prepared course material to be used in the Intellectual Property course that is part of RULE’s curriculum.

On Sunday, August 3^rd, Chuck was a guest on Stephen LeDrew’s show on CFRB 1010 radio dealing with the recent failure of the World Trade Organization’s Doha Development Round.  This negotiating round was intended to benefit the developing world to deal with the perception that they had been dealt with badly when the WTO was formed in 1995.  Some predict that the failure of the Doha Round will spell disaster for the WTO. Not Chuck.  It is a setback yet once again the WTO shall continue to be an operating system for international trade, even with the growing trend of bilateral free trade agreements.

 

Bennett Gastle welcomes Vincent Guigou as our newest intern from the University of Aix-Marseilles, in Aix-en-provence, France.  He is in his third year of law school of a five year program. At the same time, we say goodbye to Bob Goerend and Marie Amelie  Pons, both second year Magistere students. We welcome Vincent and will miss Bob and Marie!

Supreme Court of Canada releases decision in Honda v. Keays setting aside award of punitive and aggravated damages.

 

 

During the first week of April, Chuck and Elizabeth were in Aix-en-provence , France , for a series of lectures at the University of Aix-Marseille on Bennett Gastle's work in Cambodia . Prior to this, they hosted a dinner in Paris for a number of students who are now interning or practicing law there.

Chuck Gastle and Murdoch Martin's article "NAFTA Just Not What It Used To Be" was published this weekend in the Toronto Star. 

It addresses the comments made by Senators Clinton and Obama that Nafta is to be renegotiated.  The conclusion of the article is that this is unlikely to happen, but that Canada should welcome the strengthening of the labour and environmental side agreements.  Click here to read the article.  

Welcome Alexandra Vinas to Bennett Gastle. Alexandra is a graduate of the University of Aix-Marseilles in Aix-en-provence in the south of France and she will be an intern until the end of February, 2008.  Alexandra has been a student with Ernst & Young in Marseilles practicing in the area of tax law. She is in Canada to practice her English, work with Chuck in the area of international law and to “enjoy” our winter season.

Bennett Gastle welcomes Marion Hervier and Camila Carvalho!  Marion is a French law student completing her LLM program in International Law .  She hopes to gain professional experience in a foreign country during her stay in Canada .  Camila is a Brazilian law student also studying International Law. This is her third visit to Canada and she is excited about her new adventures at Bennett Gastle.  In the future she hopes to work and live abroad.