Administrative Protective Orders: Protection of Confidential Information in Canadian Trade Remedy Proceedings

Trade remedy disputes require parties to adduce evidence that includes commercially sensitive business information and strategies. Canada's trade remedy system seeks to strike a balance between the interests of parties in preventing harmful disclosure of confidential information and the public's need for transparent and expedient administration of justice. This paper provides an overview of the mechanisms and procedures available in Canada for the treatment and disclosure of confidential information in the context of trade remedy disputes and judicial review of those decisions, and includes a discussion of existing challenges and areas of concern in the Canadian context. Written by Darrel H. Pearson and Jessica B. Horwitz, and published in Volume 9 of Global Trade and Customs Journal, Issue 7/8, pp. 290–297.