Case_EMC2_2014-2015_Final_Version.pdfVIP

ELSA Moot Court Competition (EMC2) on WTO Law Case 2014-2015 Viridium –Measures Affecting the Agricultural Sector by Nicolas Lamp Assistant Professor, Queen’s University 1. Viridium is a small developed country WTO Member. It has recently suffered a devastating natural disaster which has resulted in the destruction of a large part of Viridiums agricultural infrastructure and has killed most of its farm animals. The disaster has also caused spills of manure and wastewater from several Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) which threaten to pollute rivers and lakes in some areas of Viridium. 2. Unable to cope with the aftermath of the disaster, the Viridian government has resigned in disgrace. In the ensuing elections, the hitherto obscure Green party has captured a majority of the seats in parliament, and has formed a new government. The Green party campaigned on a promise to rebuild Viridiums agricultural sector in a sustainable manner and, in particular, to prevent the re-emergence of industrial farming in Viridium. To implement this promise, the new parliament has passed the Agricultural Reconstruction and Reform Act (ARRA). 3. Recitals 1-4 of the Preamble of the ARRA explain the objectives of the Act as follows: Cognizant that the terrible disaster that has come over our nation provides us with a limited and temporary opportunity to build the kind of world we want to live in; Recognizing that only a radical break with past farming practices will permit the development of a sustainable agricultural sector; Convinced that the humane treatment of animals is a matter of ethic