Canada – Federal Constitutional Court dismisses Sita lawsuits

Demonstration against TTIP and SitaDTS

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Karlsruhe (German News Agency) – The Federal Constitutional Court has dismissed several lawsuits against the European-Canadian trade agreement Seta. Judges in Karlsruhe declared Tuesday that an application in constitutional complaints and organ dispute proceedings for a provisional application of a free trade agreement was only partially admissible.

As far as constitutional complaints and organ complaints directed against Sita’s signature and conclusion, they were dismissed as unacceptable. The reason given was that the EU’s decision on the provisional application of SITA on 28 October 2016 “could neither qualify as an ultra vires act” nor would it affect the principles of democracy. As far as the EU’s ability to terminate contracts is disputed for individual territories, provisional application is restricted. This also applies to the extent that sovereign rights can be transferred to the committee system with Court and Ceta.

While it is doubtful whether this would still be covered by Article 23(1) of the principal law by the Integration Authority, such a risk is ruled out by restrictions on provisional applications and declarations on council minutes in relation to the Joint Sita Committee. The Constitutional Court declared. So far as the democratic legitimacy and control of the decisions of the Joint Sita Committee appears questionable, there is no reason to fear that the constitutional identity may be affected during the provisional application of Sita.

The free trade agreement has already been largely provisionally implemented for more than four years. All EU member states must ratify it for a full application. Following the decision of Karlsruhe, the federal government wants to make a decision on ratification. Other states have not done so yet.

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