June 29, 2004
The Tribunal
(Methanex v. U.S.A.)
c/o The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
MSN: MC 6-611
1818 H Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20433
Re: Methanex Corporation v. United States of America, Application
of Amici for Leave to File a Post-Hearing Written Submission
Dear Messrs. Veeder, Rowley and Reisman:
Please find enclosed the application of Amici International Institute for Sustainable Development, Bluewater Network, Communities for a Better Environment and the Center for International Environmental Law (collectively “Amici“) for leave to file a single post-hearing submission in the above-referenced arbitration proceedings. Also enclosed are Amici’s submission and a computer disk with electronic versions of both documents.
Amici’s submission addresses a single issue of law: whether the scope of the “police powers” exclusion from the realm of measures that can be classed as expropriatory includes bona fide non health environmental measures. The Tribunal need not address this issue if it finds California’s MTBE ban to be a bona fide public health measure. If, however, the Tribunal finds the ban not to be a bona fide public health measure, it will have to address whether the measure is a bona fide non-health related environmental measure and to determine whether such a measure can constitute a violation of Article 1110. Neither disputing party addressed these latter questions directly, and it is for this reason that Amici make this application. Amici’s submission demonstrates that international law considers legitimate environmental regulations, like other legitimate police power measures, not to be expropriatory.
Please do not hesitate to contact either of us should you have questions or desire further information.
Yours sincerely,
| Martin Wagner Earthjustice 426 17th Street, 6th Floor Oakland, CA 94612 USA 510-550-6700 (tel)/510-550-6740 (fax) mwagner@earthjustice.org Counsel for Petitioners Communities for a Better Environment |
Howard Mann 424 Hamilton Ave. South Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1Y 1E3 613-729-0621 (tel)/613-729-0306 (fax) h.mann@sympatico.caCounsel for Petitioner International Institute for Sustainable Development |
Cc: Christopher Dugan; Barton Legum; Hugo Perezcano Díaz; Carolyn
Knobel
For more information, please contact Marcos Orellana.