Date | Actor | Event | ||
Government | Tobacco industry | Civil society | ||
31 October 2004 | X | Tabaré Vazquez is elected president of Uruguay. | ||
31 May 2005 | X | Health Ministry issues health decree N. 35 requiring cigarette packages to be sold without misleading descriptors and pictorial HWLs covering 50% of both sides of the package.27 | ||
2006–2008 | X | Abal Hermanos (PMI) ignores law by continuing to sell color-coded cigarette packages.44 | ||
6 March 2008 | X | Congress enacts Law 18.256 to further institutionalise packaging and labelling policies.112 | ||
18 August 2008 | X | Health Ministry issues Public Ordinance N. 514 requiring each cigarette brand to have a single presentation.32 | ||
10 September 2008 | X | Abal sends letter to Health Ministry arguing Ordinance N. 514 violates the Uruguayan constitution and their investment rights under international treaties.36 | ||
23 September 2008 | X | Abal sends another letter to Health Ministry arguing Ordinance N. 514 violates treaties.36 | ||
26 December 2008 | X | Abal sends another letter to Health Ministry arguing Ordinance N. 514 violates treaties.36 | ||
3 February 2009 | X | Abal sends another letter to Health Ministry arguing Ordinance N. 514 violates treaties.37 | ||
9 February 2009 | X | Abal files a request in local courts for injunction to suspend Ordinance N. 514.58 | ||
14 February 2009 | X | Ordinance N. 514 comes into effect.32 | ||
18 February 2009 | X | Civil court denies Abal’s request for an injunction on procedural grounds.85 | ||
27 April 2009 | X | Civil court of appeals rejects Abal’s appeal on procedural grounds.85 | ||
9 June 2009 | X | Abal files an annulment action with the Administrative Court seeking the annulment of Article 3 (requiring single brand presentation) and suspension of Ordinance N. 514.59 | ||
15 June 2009 | X | President Vazquez issues executive decree N. 287 to increase pictorial HWLs from covering 50% to 80% of the front and back of the package.31 | ||
25 June 2009 | X | Abal sends threatening letter to Health Ministry arguing Decree N. 287 violates the Uruguayan constitution and their investment rights under international treaties.38 | ||
11 September 2009 | X | Abal files annulment action with the Administrative Court that executive decree N. 287 grants the executive branch unlimited power to impose restrictions on individual rights.61 | ||
12 December 2009 | X | Decree N. 287 comes into effect.31 | ||
19 February 2010 | X | PMI pays a non-refundable fee of $25 000 to file an investment dispute against Uruguay in ICSID under a 1991 Uruguay-Switzerland BIT to challenge the regulations.63 | ||
19 February 2010 | X | Members of local tobacco control organisations CIET and SUT publish opinion-editorials in local newspapers denouncing PMI’s attempt to intimidate the government.69 70 | ||
1 March 2010 | X | President Mujica enters office as President of Uruguay. | ||
March 2010 | X | Local health groups inform international health groups the government’s willingness to defend regulations but that they lack legal and financial capacity to fight PMI.44 49 | ||
26 March 2010 | X | The ICSID Secretary-General determines PMI’s challenge falls within the jurisdiction of the Centre and registers the investment dispute.67 | ||
April–July 2010 | X | PMI privately meets with top government officials about amending the regulations.73 | ||
June–July 2010 | X | CIET members learn that PMI is privately negotiating with the government to weaken the regulations and warn against the possibility of weakened regulations in the media.44 49 | ||
29 June 2010 | X | CIET writes a letter to former President Vazquez informing him that the Mujica government is privately negotiating with PMI to weaken the regulations.44 | ||
16 July 2010 | X | TFK coordinates letter from international groups to President Mujica to offer legal support, requesting the administration not settle with PMI by weakening the regulations.74 | ||
22 July 2010 | X | CIET meets with Senator Lucia Topolanski, President Mujica’s wife, to explain the risks of weakening the regulations. Mujica’s wife suggests speaking directly to the president and in response CIET requests a meeting with President Mujica.44 | ||
23 July 2010 | X | Health Ministry announces on the radio the government is going to eliminate Ordinance N. 514 and weaken Decree N. 287 by lowering the size of HWLs from 80 to 65%.68 | ||
24 July 2010 | X | Former President Vazquez criticises Mujica government for weakening the regulations.71 | ||
28 July 2010 | X | Health groups send letters to petition President Mujica to defend regulations and offer technical assistance.75 | ||
30 July 2010 | X | President Mujica announces on the radio that tobacco companies are powerful enemies but that Uruguay will continue to explore options in maintaining the regulations.73 | ||
3 August 2010 | X | Former President Vazquez meets with current President Mujica and urges him to accept the help from the international health groups and defend the regulations.73 | ||
5 August 2010 | X | Officials from the Mujica administration reach out to CIET and TFK inviting them to a meeting to discuss the international legal ramifications of the regulations.44 49 | ||
10 August 2010 | X | International delegation of lawyers meet with top government officials and communicate that Uruguay has a strong legal case to defend the regulations. TFK offers financial assistance to help defend the regulations against the PMI investment dispute challenge.76 | ||
27 August 2010 | X | TFK sends a letter to Uruguayan government to further communicate that there is widespread support from transnational tobacco control network and their commitment of financial support to minimise legal costs of a potential arbitration case against PMI.78 | ||
29 September 2010 | X | PAHO Executive Committee unanimously approves a resolution supporting Uruguay’s tobacco control program and critical of PMI arbitration challenge, the first official statement by an international body on the PMI vs. Uruguay dispute.79 | ||
30 September 2010 | X | TFK’s legal team meet again with top government officials to further communicate their commitments to generating international support.80 | ||
4 October 2010 | X | Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro announces the governments’ intention to pursue the arbitration against PMI and accept financial support from the TFK.81 | ||
6 October 2010 | X | TFK sends a follow-up letter to top government officials to explain their plan to generate positive media coverage of the PMI vs Uruguay dispute in Uruguay and build public support for Uruguay’s position from other countries and international organisations.80 | ||
15–20 November 2010 | X | FCTC Secretariat holds fourth COP meeting in Punta del Este, Uruguay and issues the Punta del Este Declaration, which declares countries can prioritise public health regulations over trade agreements provided they are consistent with the WTO TRIPS agreement.25 | ||
16 November 2010 | X | WHO holds press conference to announce it will provide scientific evidence to support regulations and coordinate briefings related to trade and tobacco.44 | ||
16 November 2010 | X | Michael Bloomberg issues a press release and personally calls President Mujica to announce that he (through TFK) will help finance Uruguay’s legal defense against PMI.84 | ||
15 March 2011 | X | ICSID arbitration proceedings officially begin.85 | ||
23 September 2011 | X | X | Uruguayan government files a memorandum challenging ICSID jurisdiction claiming PMI was required under treaty to litigate treaty disputes in domestic courts first.85 | |
28 August 2012 | X | X | The Administrative Court rejects Abal’s challenge and upholds the Health Ministry’s jurisdiction and authority to implement Decree N. 287.62 | |
3 July 2013 | X | X | ICSID arbitrators denied Uruguay’s motion to dismiss PMI’s legal challenge.85 | |
28 January 2015 | X | WHO and FCTC secretariat submit amicus brief to support the Uruguayan regulations.86 | ||
6 March 2015 | X | PAHO submits an amicus brief to support the Uruguayan regulations.87 | ||
5 October 2015 | X | Uruguayan delegates participate in oral hearings on the merits of the case.85 | ||
8 July 2016 | X | ICSID rejects PMI’s investment dispute, ruling that PMI has to pay US$7 million of Uruguay’s cost and an additional US$1.5 million for administrative fees and expenses and confirms Uruguay’s sovereign right to implement the regulations.85 |
BIT, Bilateral Investment Treaty; CIET, Centro de Investigacion para la Epidemia del Tabaquismo (Tobacco Epidemic Research Center);COP,Conference of the Parties; FCTC; Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; ICSID: International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes; PAHO, Pan-American Health Organization; PMI, Philip Morris International; SUT, Sociedad Uruguaya de Tabacologia (Uruguayan Tobacco Society); TFK, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids; TRIPS, Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights; WTO, World Trade Organization.