Biography

He started practicing law in 1980, to begin with in Washington, D.C. Following a five month internship with the European Commission's Legal Service in Brussels, he returned to the Netherlands in 1982 where he qualified for the Dutch bar. He moved to Brussels in 1990, where he continued with his legal specialties: competition law and international trade law. Before joining Vermulst Verhaeghe Graafsma & Bronckers in the summer of 2009, Mr Bronckers was a partner in the Brussels office of WilmerHale.

In international trade law, he became the first lawyer in private practice to represent a government in government-to-government litigation before a GATT panel in Geneva (in 1988). He also was the first lawyer to represent a European company in a formal complaint about a foreign trade measure, which ultimately led to GATT-condemnation of a US trade law (the Section 337 case, in 1989). Since the late 1980s he also acted in several trade cases outside the GATT. For instance, he represented the International Federation of Phonogram Industries in a European complaint against Indonesia following the piracy of the ‘Live Aid' concert for famine relief in Africa, which led Indonesia to amend its copyright laws.

With the establishment of the GATT's successor, the WTO, in 1995, Mr Bronckers has advised governments and industries on a variety of WTO issues, ranging from agricultural policy, antidumping measures, taxation, subsidies, the protection of intellectual property rights, postal and telecommunications services, biotechnology, and the environment. In addition, he counsels on the classic trade instruments (antidumping, safeguards, cvd, GSP, import and export regulation and customs law). He appeared before WTO panels and the Appellate Body in several cases. Recently he has been involved in the China cars and China intellectual property, the EC's implementation of the Information Technology Agreement, India wine taxes, EC Bananas, and EC Biotechnology disputes before the WTO. From 1999-2004 he served a term as one of the WTO's five person Permanent Group of Experts on Subsidies.

In competition law, Mr Bronckers has been advising European and other companies on M&A and commercial initiatives. For many years his practice has notably focused on the liberalisation of the European public utility sectors. In the 1990s his initial foray was in
the postal sector. He also has done a considerable amount of telecoms work, and acted on the opening up of the electricity markets. For instance, when his home jurisdiction, the Netherlands, adopted a new competition law in 1998, he successfully represented the complainant, Norsk Hydro, in the first case that led to a (multi-million euro) fine in August 1999, confirmed on appeal in May 2004. He assisted FIFA in negotiations with the European Commission that led to a ground-breaking agreement in March 2001 on a new regime for the international transfers of soccer players. Recently, he has been involved in several cartel investigations and abuse of dominance cases in the high technology and chemical sectors.

Mr Bronckers also has long-standing experiences with various areas of EC regulation. For instance, he has been involved with the EC's flagship legislation on chemical substances (REACH) since the early drafting stages in 2004. Recently, he successfully defended a US multinational in a financial fraud investigation initiated by OLAF; advised an industry group on a possible EC response against US extraterritorial legislation in the public health sector; negotiated a data sharing agreement between two chemical producers against the background of EC animal welfare principles; counselled non-EC producers of fertilizers on national and EC anti-terrorist legislation including potentially discriminatory marketing restrictions; advised an EC Member State as well as chemical and steel industries on different aspects of the EC Commission's climate change proposals launched in early 2008.

During his career as a practicing lawyer, Mr Bronckers has frequently published and lectured on competition law and international trade law. This led to his appointment in 1997 as part-time professor of law at the University of Leiden, where he holds the chair of WTO and EC external trade relations law. In addition, he is a faculty member of the World Trade Institute, University of Bern; and of the program International Economic Law and Policy, University of Barcelona. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at the Max Planck Institute für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht in Heidelberg. He is also an associate editor of the JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW (published by Oxford University Press), member of the editorial board of LEGAL ISSUES OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION (Kluwer), and a member of various professional bodies, such as the ILA's International Trade Law Committee, Committee C-1 of the International Bar Association, and the Brussels Antitrust Group.

Mr Bronckers is recognized as a specialist in his areas of practice. A recent selection of nominations includes: Chambers Global and Chambers Europe (The World's Leading Lawyers 2007-2009 recommended Trade practitioner); Law Business Research (The International Who's Who, recommended as Trade & Customs and Competition Lawyer since first edition through 2009); European Legal Experts (A Legal Business Report: recommended as EU and Competition practitioner, 2008); Practical Law Company (recommended as EU Competition and EU Telecommunications practitioner, 2008); JUVE Handbuch (recommended as leading WTO lawyer, 2007-2009).

Mr Bronckers works in Dutch, English, French and German.

Selected publications

Books

WTO JURISPRUDENCE AND POLICY: PRACTITIONERS' PERSPECTIVES, 836 pages (Cameron May, London, 2004) (various authors; co-edited with Gary Horlick).

A CROSS-SECTION OF WTO LAW, 300 pages (Cameron May, London, 2000).

NEW DIRECTIONS IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW: Essays in Honour of Professor John H. Jackson, 593 pages (Kluwer, Deventer and Boston, 2000) (various authors; co-edited with Reinhard Quick).
SELECTIVE SAFEGUARD MEASURES IN MULTILATERAL TRADE RELATIONS: Issues of Protectionism in GATT, European Community and United States Law, 306 pages (Kluwer, Deventer and Boston, 1985).

Selected Articles and Book Chapters

Legal Remedies under the EU's New Chemicals Regulation REACH: Testing a New Model of European Governance, to be published in 46 COMMON MARKET LAW REVIEW (NO. 6, 2009) (with Yves van Gerven)

From 'Direct effect' to Muted dialogue': Recent developments in the European Courts' case law on the WTO and beyond, 11 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW 885-898 (NO. 4, 2008); published in slightly different form under the same title in GOEDEREN IN GEDING: MONDIAAL-EUROPEES-NATIONAAL 3-16 (Possen ed., Prinsengrachtreeks 2008/1, Ars Aequi, Nijmegen, 2008), and in VIEWS OF EUROPEAN LAW FROM THE MOUNTAIN: Liber Amicorum Piet Jan Slot 403-416 (Bulterman et al. eds., Kluwer, 2009).

The Impact of WTO Law on European Food Regulation, 3 EUROPEAN FOOD AND FEED LAW REVIEW 361-375 (NO. 6, 2008) (with Ravi Soopramanien)

The Implications for Ukrainian Business of WTO Accession and EU Association, YUR-GAZETA, 21 October 2008, p. 15 (in Ukrainian)

A Review of the WTO Regime for Telecommunications Services, in THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION AND TRADE IN SERVICES 319-379 (Alexander & Andenas eds., Martinus Nijhoff, 2008) (co-authored with Pierre Larouche)

Private Appeals to WTO Law: An Update, 42 JOURNAL OF WORLD TRADE 245-260 (NO. 2, 2008)

Compliance and Reparation: Practical Proposals for Financial Compensation in the WTO, in TEN YEARS OF
WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT 139-153 (International Bar Association, Horovitz, Moulis & Steger eds. 2007); also published in slightly different form as Financial Compensation in the WTO: Improving Remedies in WTO Dispute Settlement, in REFORM AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT SYSTEM 43-72 (Georgiev and Van der Borght eds., Cameron May, 2006); and in 8 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW 101-126 (NO. 1, 2005) (co-authored with Naboth van den Broek)

The Relationship of the EC Courts with other International Tribunals: Non-committal, Respectful or Submissive?, 44 COMMON MARKET LAW REVIEW 601-627 (NO. 3, 2007); published as well in ECONOMIC LAW AND JUSTICE IN TIMES OF GLOBALISATION: Festschrift for Carl Baudenbacher 51-74 (Monti et al., eds., Nomos, 2007)

WTO Regulation of Subsidies, in EC STATE AID LAW 167-181 (Hancher, Ottervanger & Slot eds, Thomson Maxwell, 3d ed., 2006) (co-authored with Gary Horlick & Natalie McNelis)

The EU's Responses to Foreign Subsidies: An Overview, in THE WTO TRADE REMEDY SYSTEM: EAST ASIAN PERSPECTIVES 145-157 (Matsushita, Ahn & Chen eds., Cameron May, 2006) (co-authored with Martin Goyette)

WTO Law in the European Court of Justice, 42 COMMON MARKET LAW REVIEW 1313-1355 (NO. 5, 2005); an earlier version was published in Dutch in 52 SOCIAAL-ECONOMISCHE WETGEVING 450-466 (November 2004) (co-authored with Pieter Jan Kuijper)

The Effect of the WTO in European Court Litigation, 40 TEXAS INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL 443-448 (NO. 3, Spring 2005)

The WTO Regime for Telecommunications Services, in I THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION: LEGAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL ANALYSIS 989-1040 (Appleton & Macrory eds., 3 volumes, Springer, 2005) (co-authored with Pierre Larouche)

Exceptions to Liberal Trade in Foodstuffs : The Precautionary Approach and Collective Preferences, in THE EFTA COURT 10 YEARS ON 105-114 (Baudenbacher, Tresselt & Orlygsson eds., Hart Publishing, 2005)

REACH Reviewed under WTO Law, 2 JOURNAL FOR EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENTAL & PLANNING LAW 184-194 (NO. 3, 2005) (co-authored with Pablo Charro)

Protection of Regulatory Data in EU and WTO Law: the Example of REACH, 8 JOURNAL OF WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 579-598 (NO.5, 2005); a German version was published as Schutz von Registrierdaten im EU- und WTO-Recht: Das Beispiel von REACH, 2 ZEITSCHRIFT FÜR STOFFRECHT 2-13 (NO. 1, 2005) (co-authored with Petr Ondrusek)

Trade retaliation is a poor way to get even, FINANCIAL TIMES (op-ed page, 24 June 2004, p.15) (co-authored with Naboth van den Broek)

Towards Remedies that Expand rather than Contract Trade, 5 JOURNAL OF WORLD INVESTMENT & TRADE 353-356 (NO. 2, 2004)

The Special Safeguard Clause in respect of China: (How) Will It Work?; in WTO AND EAST ASIA: NEW PERSPECTIVES 39-50 (Matsushita and Ahn eds., Cameron May, London, 2004); a Chinese version of the article was published in POLITICAL SCIENCE & LAW at Page 147 (Column Exotic Laws), with the National Category Number DF 96, and Article Number 1005-9512 (2005) 02-0147-04; an earlier version was published as The EU's Special Safeguard Clause in respect of China: (How) Will It Work?, 30 LEGAL ISSUES OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION 123-131 (NO. 2, 2003) (co-authored with Martin Goyette)

Trade Policy and Intellectual Property: An Example of Global Governance, in EUROPA UND DIE GLOBALISIERING III (Referate des Dritten Wiener Globalisierungs-Symposiums) 183-187, 210-211 (Baudenbacher & Busek eds., Verlag Österreich 2003)

Where Should WTO Law Go on the Exhaustion of Intellectual Property Rights?, in INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Trade, Competition and Sustainable Development 231-234 (Cottier & Mavroidis eds., University of Michigan Press, 2003)

The Impact of the WTO on Educational Policy, 87 ECONOMISCHE STATISTISCHE BERICHTEN D30-D32 (NO. 4359, 2002) (in Dutch) (co-authored with Axel Desmedt).

The European Court's PreussenElektra judgment: Tension between EU principles and national renewable energy initiatives, 22 EUROPEAN COMPETITION LAW REVIEW 458-468 (NO. 10, 2001) (co-authored with Rosalinde van der Vlies).

La jurisprudence des juridictions communautaires relatives à l'OMC demande réparation: Plaidoyer pour les droits des Etats-membres, 37 CAHIERS DE DROIT EUROPEEN 3-14 (NO. 1-2, 2001).

The EU Trade Barriers Regulation Comes of Age, 35 JOURNAL OF WORLD TRADE 427-483 (August 2001); published as well in EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL CO-ORDINATION: Studies in Transnational Economic Law in Honour of Claus-Dieter Ehlermann 55-97 (Von Bogdandy, Mavroidis, & Mény eds., Kluwer, 2002) (co-authored with Natalie McNelis).

More Power to the WTO?, 4 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW 41-65 (NO. 1, 2001).

The WTO Reference Paper on Telecommunications: A Model for WTO Competition Law?, in NEW DIRECTIONS IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW: Essays in Honour of Professor John H. Jackson 371- 389 (Bronckers & Quick, eds., Kluwer, 2000).

A Practical Guide to the Enforcement Rules of the TRIPS Agreement (EC Commission, Luxemburg, 2000) (co-authored with Feer Verkade & Natalie McNelis).

Rethinking the 'Like Product' Definition in WTO Law: Anti-dumping and Environmental Protection, in REGULATORY BARRIERS AND THE PRINCIPLE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION IN WORLD TRADE LAW 345-385 (Cottier and Mavroidis eds., University of Michigan Press, 2000); published in part as Rethinking the 'Like Product' Definition in WTO Anti-dumping Law, in 33 JOURNAL OF WORLD TRADE 73-91 (No. 3, 1999) (co-authored with Natalie McNelis).

Better Rules for a New Millennium: A Warning Against Undemocratic Developments in the WTO, 2 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW 547-566 (NO. 4, 1999); a French version is published as Une mise en garde contre des tendances antidémocratiques à l'OMC - De meilleures règles pour un nouveau millénaire, REVUE DU MARCHÉ COMMUN ET DE L'UNION EUROPÉENNE 683-695 (NO. 433, November-December 1999); a Dutch version is published as Betere regels voor een nieuw millennium: Een waarschuwing tegen ondemocratische ontwikkelingen in de WTO, 47 SOCIAAL-ECONOMISCHE WETGEVING 414-423 (November 1999).

Fact and Law in Pleadings Before the WTO Appellate Body, 5 INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW AND REGULATION 118-123 (No. 5, 1999); also included in IMPROVING WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES: Issues and Lessons from the Practice of other International Courts and Tribunals 321-333 (Weiss ed., Cameron May, London, 2000) (co-authored with Natalie McNelis).

The Exhaustion of Patent Rights under WTO Law, 32 JOURNAL OF WORLD TRADE 137-159 (No. 5, 1998).

Telecommunications Services and the World Trade Organization, 31 JOURNAL OF WORLD TRADE 4-48 (no. 3, 1997) (co-authored with Pierre Larouche).

Rehabilitating Antidumping and other Trade Remedies through Cost-Benefit Analyses, 30 JOURNAL OF WORLD TRADE 5-37 (no. 2, 1996).

The Position of Privatized Utilities under WTO and EC Procurement Rules, 22 LEGAL ISSUES OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION 145-160 (1996/1); an updated version is published in LAW AND POLICY IN PUBLIC PURCHASING: THE WTO AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT 243-259 (Hoekman & Mavroidis eds., University of Michigan Press, 1997).

WTO Implementation in the European Community: Dumping, Safeguards, and Intellectual Property, 29 JOURNAL OF WORLD TRADE 73-95 (No. 5, 1995).

The Impact of TRIPS: Intellectual Property Protection in Developing Countries, 31 COMMON MARKET LAW REVIEW 1245-1281 (No. 6, 1994).

The Exhaustion of Patent Rights under WTO Law, 32 JOURNAL OF WORLD TRADE 137-159 (No. 5, 1998).

Competition Law and WTO: Not so Futuristic, in CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL LAW ISSUES: NEW FORMS, NEW APPLICATIONS, Proceedings of the Fourth Hague Joint Conference of the American Society of International Law and the Nederlandse Vereniging van Internationaal Recht 299-302 (TMC Asser Institute, The Hague, 1998).

The Enforcement of WTO Law through the EC Trade Barriers Regulation, 3 INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW & REGULATION 76-84 (no. 3, 1997).

Telecommunications Services and the World Trade Organization, 31 JOURNAL OF WORLD TRADE 4-48 (no. 3, 1997) (co-authored with P. Larouche).

Les télécommunications et l'Organisation mondiale du commerce, 53 L'ACTUALITÉ JURIDIQUE DROIT ADMINISTRATIF 267-269 (no. 3, 1997).

Rehabilitating Antidumping and other Trade Remedies through Cost-Benefit Analyses, 30 JOURNAL OF WORLD TRADE 5-37 (no. 2, 1996).

Private Participation in the Enforcement of WTO law: The New EC Trade Barriers Regulation, 33 COMMON MARKET LAW REVIEW 299-318 (no. 2, 1996).

The Position of Privatized Utilities under WTO and EC Procurement Rules, 22 LEGAL ISSUES OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION 145-160 (1996/1); an updated version is published in LAW AND POLICY IN PUBLIC PURCHASING: THE WTO AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT 243-259 (Hoekman & Mavroidis eds., University of Michigan Press, 1997).

WTO Implementation in the European Community: Dumping, Safeguards, and Intellectual Property, 29 JOURNAL OF WORLD TRADE 73-95 (No. 5, 1995).

The Impact of TRIPS: Limitations of Intellectual Property Protection in the European Community, in CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL LAW ISSUES: CONFLICTS AND CONVERGENCE, Proceedings of the Third Joint Conference of the American Society of International Law and the Nederlandse Vereniging van Internationaal Recht 230-233 (TMC Asser Institute, The Hague, 1995).

The Quarrel about TRIPS: Intellectual Property Protection in Developing Countries, 43 SOCIAAL-ECONOMISCHE WETGEVING 623-640 (1995) (in Dutch).

Voluntary Export Restraints and the New GATT Safeguards Agreement, in THE URUGUAY ROUND RESULTS: A EUROPEAN LAWYER'S PERSPECTIVE, 273-279 (Bourgeois, Berrod & Gippini-Fournier eds., European Interuniversity Press, Brussels, 1995).

The Impact of TRIPS: Intellectual Property Protection in Developing Countries, 31 COMMON MARKET LAW REVIEW 1245-1281 (No. 6, 1994).

Cross-Subsidization in EEC Competition Law, in STATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP, NATIONAL MONOPOLIES AND EUROPEAN COMMUNITY LAW, 103-112 (Stuyck & Vossestein eds., Kluwer, 1993).