• The six-year battle has been finally brought to a close.
    The six-year battle has been finally brought to a close.
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Tobacco giant Philip Morris has been ordered to pay the Australian government millions in legal costs after it tried unsuccessfully to kill off plain packaging laws.

It is believed the amount could be as high as $50 million, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

The newspaper said the court published its decision on the weekend, bringing a six-year legal battle to a close.

Tobacco companies fought hard against the plain packaging laws - introduced by Julia Gillard's Labor government in 2011 - and first took the case to Australia's High Court.

The manufacturer of Marlboro and Longbeach cigarettes wanted the tribunal to order Australia to scrap the laws or to award damages of at least $US4.2 billion.

The court dismissed the case in 2015, labelling it an "abuse of rights".

Two years later, the court now says Philip Morris must cover Australia's legal costs, plus a percentage of the arbitration costs.

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