Costello v Government of Ireland [2022] IESC 44 / Костелло против правительства Ирландии [2022] IESC 44.

Judge Charlton was particularly concerned that there would be a new legal system applied to Canadian investors in Ireland, which could not be appealed to anybody, “especially, as required by the Constitution, to the highest instance of the Irish people.”Mr Costello and others who have criticised the government for trying to secure swift ratification of the complex deal amid concerns about its wider implications may well feel vindicated by the Supreme Court's decision. The government has been warned by several politicians and others, Social Democrats Jennifer Whitmore and Senator Michael McDowell, former Justice Minister and Attorney General, that the ratification of the investor court system is potentially unconstitutional.During the debate in the Dáil Committee in November 2021, Senator McDowell noted that Ireland receives a huge amount of foreign direct investment from the United States without such an arbitration system as proposed under Ceta. According to him, Oireachtas was asked to grant Canadian investors additional rights compared to those available in the Irish courts and in accordance with the Constitution.ConclusionThus, we see how "bilateral free trade agreements" conducted in the interests of private corporations will destroy social public services, the rights of workers and consumers to extract and increase profit. In the near future, many countries around the world will open their doors to GMOs and shale gas, posing a threat to information and labor rights, as corporations will have at their disposal a wide range of opportunities to challenge any restriction, which are called "barriers to trade. And, of course, such agreements should be condemned, including those who push them - these are corporate officials/lobbyists and obedient bureaucrats/government officials.The complex case, which resulted in seven judgments of almost 500 pages, concerned whether the government and Dáil could constitutionally ratify Ceta, the trade agreement reached between the EU and Canada in 2016.There are no problems with the trade aspects of the deal, most of which have entered into force, and the legal dispute concerned a section of the deal that has yet to be ratified by Ireland and many other EU states. – creation of a system of special courts for investors who could make binding decisions on disputes between Canadian and Canadian investors.investors and EU member states without recourse to the courts of the member states. Mr. Costello feared that this could negatively affect progressive policy here, including in the field of environmental regulation.Such tribunals have become a common feature of some bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, and claims against them are often made by large commercial organizations. For example, last year a Swedish state-owned company achieved a settlement of its case in the amount of 1.4 billion euros, referred to the tribunal, against Germany in connection with the decision of its parliament to phase out nuclear power plants.References1."Green Party TD loses court challenge over CETA deal". RaidióTeilifísÉireann. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021..2.Reporter, Brian Mahon, Political. "Supreme Court allows 'leapfrog' appeal from High Court over Ceta trade deal". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 21 April 2022.3."Costello -v- Government of Ireland & Ors [2022] IESCDET 1". Courts Service of Ireland.Retrieved 12 November 2022.4.O’Loughlin, Ann (29 March 2022). "Green TDs appeal against EU-Canada trade deal opens in Supreme Court". Irish Examiner.Retrieved 21 April 2022.5.O'Donnell, Orla (11 November 2022). "Costello wins court challenge over CETA ratification". RTÉ News.6.Carolan, Mary (11 November 2022). "Ceta appeal may be among 'most important' in Supreme Court's history, judge says". The Irish Times.Retrieved 12 November 2022.7.Murphy, David (12 November 2022). "Greens face internal divisions over trade deal". RTÉ News.Retrieved 12 November 2022.8."CETA Chapter Summaries". Global Affairs Canada.Government of Canada. 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2019.