Publication Language: English

Letter to Thailand’s Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health re: The Legality and Propriety of Thailand’s Public Non-Commercial Use Licenses for AIDS, Heart-Disease, and Cancer Medicines

“We are a group of international legal experts who understand that the Government of Thailand is reviewing the legality and adverse trade impacts of seven compulsory licenses on AIDS, heart disease, and cancer medicines issued in Thailand since November 2006. We are writing to assure you that the licenses are fully lawful not only under … Read more

Delivering on the Pledge: Global Access to Medicines, WTO Rules, and Reforming Canada’s Law on Compulsory Licensing for Export – McGill International Journal of Sustainable Development Law & Policy

This article — published in the McGill International Journal of Sustainable Development Law & Policy, Volume 3, Issue 1 — outlines the relevance of WTO rules on intellectual property to the global inequity in access to medicines and reviews key developments at the WTO underlying such legislation. It discusses the key features, positive and negative, … Read more

Legal Network News 29 – January 2008

FEATURES Women’s rights consultation in Johannesburg Going global: AIDS law portal project lifts off MOVING ON Leon Mar KUDOS Thomas Kerr MEDIA SCAN IN BRIEF Human rights guidelines for pharmaceutical companies Legal Network supports Caribbean activist coalition World Bank conference in Uzbekistan Communicating harm reduction Counterfeit drug strategy? NEW THIS QUARTER

HIV/AIDS Policy and Law Review 12(2/3) December 2007

FEATURES Legislation contagion: the spread of problematic new HIV laws in Western Africa Drug treatment courts in Canada: an evidence-based review Use of soft law to address HIV/AIDS in Southeast Asia CANADIAN DEVELOPMENTS Supervised injection facility granted another temporary extension; legal action launched First test of WTO mechanism for procuring generic medicines under compulsory licence, … Read more

Use of soft law to address HIV/AIDS in Southeast Asia – HIV/AIDS Policy & Law Review 12(2/3)

Non-binding agreements, or “soft law,” have played a role in influencing government policy and reducing HIV vulnerability among construction workers in the Greater Mekong Subregion of Southeast Asia. In this article, David Patterson et al. state that soft law sometimes offers advantages over treaty law, but that challenges remain in the implementation of soft law. … Read more

Drug treatment courts in Canada: an evidence-based review – HIV/AIDS Policy & Law Review 12(2/3)

Drug treatment courts, which are judicially mandated treatment alternatives to the incarceration of illicit drug offenders, were introduced in Canada in late 1998. Recent announcements from the federal government suggest that the drug treatment court model will continue to operate and expand in a number of Canadian jurisdictions. Two major evaluations of these programs – … Read more

Opioid Substitution Therapy in Prisons: Reviewing the Evidence

A wealth of scientific evidence has shown that methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is the most effective intervention available for the treatment of opiate dependence. MMT has been associated with reductions in risk behaviour, illicit drug use, criminal behaviour, participation in sex work, unemployment, mortality, and HIV transmission. Many of the concerns raised about MMT have … Read more

Needle and Syringe Programs and Bleach in Prisons: Reviewing the Evidence

A substantial amount of scientific evidence has shown that needle and syringe programs (NSPs) in the community are the most effective intervention available to prevent HIV transmission associated with injecting drug use. As well, NSPs have been associated with increases in access to care and treatment among people who use such programs, and with substantial … Read more

Letter to the Ontario Judicial Council re: Conduct of Mr. Justice Jon-Jo Douglas

“We write to you to lodge formally a complaint regarding the conduct of Mr. Justice Jon-Jo Douglas, of the Ontario Court of Justice (Central East Region), in the recent proceeding of R. v. Wilde (accused charged with sexual assault allegedly committed upon the complainant during incarceration at the Central North Correctional Centre). . . “We … Read more