Ciel and other civil society organizations express concerns over USTR's proposed appellate mechanism in the investment chapter of the Dominican Republic-Central American-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

A coalition of civil society organizations argues that the proposed appellate mechanism for CAFTA's investment chapter is flawed and could undermine public interest and democratic principles. They advocate for the retention of domestic court review, the creation of a standing appellate body rather than ad hoc tribunals, the inclusion of environmental law expertise among panelists, and the adoption of a de novo standard of review for legal conclusions. Additionally, they call for mechanisms to ensure developing countries can afford to participate in appellate proceedings.

• The authors argue that an improperly designed appellate mechanism could increase incoherence in international arbitral rulings, weaken domestic oversight, and fail to protect democratic principles and public interest objectives.
• The coalition strongly opposes eliminating domestic legal review of arbitral decisions, stating that doing so would remove a critical check against corrupt decisions or those that contradict the U.S. Constitution and fundamental values.
• The document argues against using ad hoc arbitral tribunals for appeals, asserting that a standing body is necessary to avoid an "unwieldy and incoherent proliferation" of decisions and to meet the mandate of the Trade Act of 2002.
• The authors advocate for a 'de novo' standard of review for legal conclusions rather than a 'clearly erroneous' standard, which they claim would force appellate panels to defer to conflicting interpretations and undermine the system's legitimacy.
• To ensure equitable participation for Central American parties and other developing countries, the authors propose funding mechanisms for litigation costs, capacity-building programs, and requirements for claimants to post bonds.

APA

Lee, T., Caldwell, J., Orellana, M., Weinberg, S., Muffett, C., Bottari, M., Wagner, M., Rangnes, M. S., & Waskow, D. (2004). Ciel and other civil society organizations express concerns over USTR's proposed appellate mechanism in the investment chapter of the Dominican Republic-Central American-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-and-other-civil-society-organizations-express-concerns-over-ustrs-proposed-appellate-mechanism-in-the-investment-chapter-of-the-dominican-republic-central-american-u-s-free-trade-agreement/

Chicago

Lee, Thea, Jake Caldwell, Marcos Orellana, Stephanie Weinberg, Carroll Muffett, Mary Bottari, Martin Wagner, Margrete Strand Rangnes, and David Waskow. Ciel and other civil society organizations express concerns over USTR's proposed appellate mechanism in the investment chapter of the Dominican Republic-Central American-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Center for International Environmental Law, 2004. https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-and-other-civil-society-organizations-express-concerns-over-ustrs-proposed-appellate-mechanism-in-the-investment-chapter-of-the-dominican-republic-central-american-u-s-free-trade-agreement/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Lee |first1=Thea |last2=Caldwell |first2=Jake |last3=Orellana |first3=Marcos |last4=Weinberg |first4=Stephanie |last5=Muffett |first5=Carroll |last6=Bottari |first6=Mary |last7=Wagner |first7=Martin |last8=Rangnes |first8=Margrete Strand |last9=Waskow |first9=David |title=Ciel and other civil society organizations express concerns over USTR's proposed appellate mechanism in the investment chapter of the Dominican Republic-Central American-U.S. Free Trade Agreement |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=1 December 2004 |url=https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-and-other-civil-society-organizations-express-concerns-over-ustrs-proposed-appellate-mechanism-in-the-investment-chapter-of-the-dominican-republic-central-american-u-s-free-trade-agreement/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{lee2004ciel, author = {Lee, Thea and Caldwell, Jake and Orellana, Marcos and Weinberg, Stephanie and Muffett, Carroll and Bottari, Mary and Wagner, Martin and Rangnes, Margrete Strand and Waskow, David}, title = {{Ciel and other civil society organizations express concerns over USTR's proposed appellate mechanism in the investment chapter of the Dominican Republic-Central American-U.S. Free Trade Agreement}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2004}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-and-other-civil-society-organizations-express-concerns-over-ustrs-proposed-appellate-mechanism-in-the-investment-chapter-of-the-dominican-republic-central-american-u-s-free-trade-agreement/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }