Feeling the squeeze. National food labelling legislation in a WTO World: Case studies from France, Canada and Ghana (Spanish and English text)

Legal regulation shapes the form and content of food labels. Whether in developed or developing countries, national laws outline obligations for labelling that reflect a combination of safety, commercial, and proprietary objectives based on a country's unique circumstances. This dissertation mines one particular dimension of the interplay between national and international law. While focusing on the narrow issue of food labelling legislation, it canvasses the national and international obligations affecting food labels that arise from intellectual property law, trade regulation and consumer protection.; National food labelling regimes share some similar legislative provisions. French, Canadian, and Ghanaian law all recognize three categories of food labelling elements for pre-packaged foods: (1) mandatory labelling elements; (2) prohibited elements; and (3) reserved elements. As well, failure to comply with food labelling laws can result in criminal or civil liability, although implementation varies from country to country, with "food-centred" cultures more apt to vigorously enforce food labelling laws.; Yet, it not simply national law that dictates the final form of food labels. International legal obligations increasingly play a pivotal role. While early international agreements were driven by States' desires to harmonize certain commercial and intellectual property laws, a shift occurred with the GATT 1947. This Agreement did not look to harmonize private law regimes amongst trading partners, but rather it set out general obligations that prohibited certain national measures which inhibited trade. The pendulum has swung even further with the establishment of the WTO. National governments, in light of their WTO obligations, must now (a) undertake positive law reform; (b) make national measures WTO-compatible; and (c) submit to compulsory trade dispute resolution, all of which can affect national food labelling laws.; Clear international obligations established to address commercial or health concerns permit States to maintain national measures while still pursuing trade liberalization. However, international obligations applied to discipline national measures like the marking of food quality and the provision of new consumer information tread on national cultural sensitivities. Until further consensus evolves concerning how international obligations should be applied to such national food labelling measures, significant conflicts between national and international obligations will continue.