Legal consequences of the decision of the WTO Ministerial Conference on the TRIPS agreement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31617/3.2023(129)05Keywords:
WTO, Decision of the WTO Ministerial Conference, TRIPS Agreement, WTO Dispute Settlement Body, COVID-19.Abstract
The study provides such an assessment of the Decision of the WTO Ministerial Conference on the TRIPS Agreement of June 17, 2022 in terms of the consequences for the application and interpretation of the TRIPS Agreement, the application of its provisions in emergency situations, and the impact on overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to formulate such an assessment, a theoretical and legal analysis of the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement on the protection of rights to vaccines, pharmaceuticals, as well as an analysis of the envisaged possibilities of exemption from obligations, compulsory licensing, was carried out, the legal nature of the concept of "exemption from WTO obligations" was determined, in particular by analysing the documents of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. The study also contains a detailed analysis of the key provisions of the WTO Ministerial Agreement Decision of June 17, 2022. It is concluded that, despite the fact that the Decision generally preserves the status quo in the legal regime of the TRIPS Agreement, it can be considered as a step towards improving the flexibility in patent protection provisions, as well as compulsory licensing mechanisms.
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