154.
the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,
The COVID-19 pandemic: Exacerbating the threat of corruption to human rights and sustainable development in Pacific island countries, 2021.11.2,
https://www.pacific.undp.org/content/pacific/en/home/library/eg/the-covid-19-pandemic.html .
This paper identifies how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the threat that corruption poses to human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Pacific Island countries (PICs).
153.
Katherine Fung ,
Birx Estimates Trump Admin Could Have Prevented 30 to 40 Percent of COVID Deaths. 2021.10.27,
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/birx-estimates-trump-admin-could-have-prevented-30-to-40-percent-of-covid-deaths/ar-AAPYGVj .
The Trump administration's former coronavirus advisor, Dr. Deborah Birx, estimated that 30 to 40 percent of the 738,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. could have been prevented had the White House taken necessary steps to curb the spread of the virus.
151.
Nicholas J. Diamond,
Pandemics, Emergency Measures, and ISDS. 2021.4.13,
http://arbitrationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2020/04/13/pandemics-emergency-measures-and-isds/ .
In extraordinary times, States take extraordinary measures. In the current moment, States have adopted (and very likely will adopt additional) emergency measures to address the severe and interwoven public health and economic threats posed by the pandemic. History tells us that such measures often have downstream effects on investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS”). Expanding on themes considered byothers recently, this post briefly explores these issues.
150.
Sang Jin Lee,Michael van Muelken,
Virtual Hearing Guidelines: A Comparative Analysis and Direction for the Future. 2021.06.23,
http://arbitrationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2021/06/23/virtual-hearing-guidelines-a-comparative-analysis-and-direction-for-the-future/ .
Before the first reported case of COVID-19, major international arbitration institutions already began accepting the necessity of virtual hearings in certain situations. Guidelines for virtual hearings were officially announced with the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article explores three widely cited “guidelines” and discuss ongoing developments focusing on addressing potential shortcomings of virtual hearings.
149.
David Khachvani,
Can Pharmaceutical Companies Counter the Waiver of their Patents for COVID-19 Vaccines through Investment Treaty Arbitration? 2021.05.26,
http://arbitrationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2021/05/26/can-pharmaceutical-companies-counter-the-waiver-of-their-patents-for-covid-19-vaccines-through-investment-treaty-arbitration/ .
This post analyzes whether the pharmaceutical companies that have developed COVID-19 vaccines may have an actionable claim under international investment agreements against States waiving intellectual property rights over such vaccines. More specifically, it examines whether the vaccine developers may face jurisdictional and other threshold obstacles in pursuing their investment claims, and whether they may be entitled to compensation under the substantive standards of protection. The aim is to identify and offer a general overview of the principal legal issues, it being understood that the analysis may differ depending on the language of the applicable IIA, the circumstances of a specific case, and the final shape that the patent waiver initiative may take in different jurisdictions.
148.
Lucy Martinez,James Nicholson,Noah RubinsandHafez Virjee,
A Black Swan Event? Implications of COVID-19 for Damages and Valuations in International Arbitration, 2021.03.15,
http://arbitrationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2021/03/15/a-black-swan-event-implications-of-covid-19-for-damages-and-valuations-in-international-arbitration/ .
The onset of COVID-19 has brought significant volatility to financial markets and increased uncertainty for investors and businesses of all classes. In the arena of international arbitration, where stakes can be in the multibillions, the ability to assess damages despite this uncertainty is of paramount importance.This post addressed some insights in navigating damages and valuations amidst COVID-19, specificallyCOVID-19 as a Black Swan or force majeure event; shifts in dispute strategy in response to COVID-19; challenges in valuation resulting from COVID-19and lessons and parallels to be drawn from the Great Financial Crisis in 2008.
146.
Joe Pinsker,
The Staggering Number of Kids Who Have Lost a Parent to COVID-19, 2021.10.17,
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-staggering-number-of-kids-who-have-lost-a-parent-to-covid-19/ar-AAPBkB6?ocid=Peregrine .
An estimate published recently in the journal Pediatrics indicate at least 140,000 American children had lost a parent or caregiver because of the coronavirus by the end of June.
145.
Carl Zimmer,
Newly Discovered Bat Viruses Give Hints to Covid’s Origins, 2021.10.15,
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/newly-discovered-bat-viruses-give-hints-to-covid-s-origins/ar-AAPwqmZ .
This article illustrate that scientists traveled into the forests of northern Laos to catch bats that might harbor close cousins of the Covid-19 pathogen in the summer of 2020.
Beijing Interest Group on Global Health and Global Governance
Contact: secretary@bigghgg.cn