Our Technology Sector Group comments on upcoming trends and developments to expect in 2025 for the sector. 1. Artificial intelligence (AI) In 2025, AI will remain front and centre, as the hype of the last 18 months gives way to more widespread deployment of AI solutions across organisations – but with that will come increasing legal and compliance challenges ...
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 removes the “toxic” rights of rentcharge owners to recover historic rentcharges from landowners and reforms the process for their recovery. Background Historic rentcharges require owners of property subject to a rentcharge to pay an annual sum (usually a nominal amount) to the owner of the rentcharge. There are draconian rights of recovery where they are not paid. These are set out in section 121 of the Law of Property Act 1925 ...
Paul Carney takes a look at proposed reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme and the proposed pooling into so-called “Mega-funds”. UK Pensions – LGPS Consolidation: a look ahead to 2025 Following Suzanne Burrell’s commentary looking ahead to what 2025 brings for defined contributions pension schemes, Paul Carney takes a look at proposed reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme and the proposed pooling into so-called “Mega-funds” ...
Tokenisation is the process of converting legal rights of a real-world-asset (“RWA”) into a digital token that is recorded on a decentralised ledger. Asset-referenced tokens (“ARTs”) can tokenise physical assets such as buildings and commodities; or intangible assets including bonds, equities, intellectual property, quarrying/mining rights or renewable energy credits. ARTs provide a decentralised and transparent way to manage and transfer ownership ...
Compliance with a key component of the EU’s Instant Payments Regulation (“IPR”) is mandatory as of the 9th of January 2025 ...
Last year, the continued cost-of-living crisis, global conflicts and UK change of government dominated the headlines and added to the challenges faced by UK businesses. So, what does 2025 have in store for employers, in the employment law arena at least? 2025 predictions: what’s on the horizon for employment law Last year, the continued cost-of-living crisis, global conflicts and UK change of government dominated the headlines and added to the challenges faced by UK businesses ...
Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety (“EU GPSR”) came into force on 13 December 2024 with the aim of ensuring that all non-food consumer products, whether sold online or offline, on the EU market are safe. The EU GPSR, which replaced the General Product Safety Directive (“GPSD”) in the EU, serves as a “safety net” that catches and regulates the safety of consumer products in the absence of other specific rules ...
The new EU Product Liability Directive (Directive (EU) 2024/2853) represents a comprehensive overhaul of existing product liability laws, expanding the scope of what the law considers to be a "product" and the compensable harm a claimant can pursue. In this article we highlight the key features of the new Directive and look at what it means for businesses operating in or exporting products to the EU ...
The Information Commissioner's Office has recently published ‘AI tools in recruitment audit outcomes report’ in which they issue a series of recommendations to AI developers and users to ensure job seekers are protected during the recruitment process ...
The EU Data Act will start to apply in September 2025. It has become clear that one of the most vexing issues in applying the Data Act to real-life scenarios may in fact be a very basic one: Understanding how the apparatus of roles of the Data Act works in practice, and how it interacts with parallel role definitions of other EU laws. We discuss some of these issues and proposed solutions in this brief article ...
In today's workplace, ensuring the safety and well-being of employees is paramount. One critical aspect of this is the implementation of clear, appropriate and fair drug and alcohol testing. We explain when and why employers should conduct testing. When Can Employers Conduct Drug and Alcohol Testing? According to the “Being monitored at work: workers' rights: Drug testing - GOV.UK” guidelines, employers must have consent from employees to conduct drug and alcohol tests ...
While enforcing US judgments in the UK presents several challenges, recent case law offers valuable guidance. By taking proactive steps and seeking expert legal advice, litigants can improve their chances of successfully enforcing US judgments in the UK ...
2025 looks to be another busy year in the pensions world, Suzanne Burrell focuses on consolidation in the defined contribution pensions market. UK Defined Contribution Pensions Consolidation: a look ahead to 2025 2025 looks to be another busy year in the pensions world, with a continuing number of defined benefit schemes in the private sector looking to secure benefits with insurers ...
When an employee is subject to a police investigation or is charged or convicted of criminal misconduct outside of work, it can be a challenging area for employers to navigate. We set out our top tips for employers handling such situations. Top tips for employers dealing with criminal misconduct outside of work When an employee is subject to a police investigation or is charged or convicted of criminal misconduct outside of work, it can be a challenging area for employers to navigate ...
The Framework In its essence, the Fuel EU Maritime Regulation sets requirements for the well-to-wake greenhouse gas emission of the energy used on board vessels trading in the EU. The intention is to provide a step-based incentive to reduce GHG intensity from a baseline of 91.16 g CO2 equivalent per MJ. Lack of compliance with the applicable limit will lead to penalties, while a positive compliance balance may be used to offset another vessel’s deficit ...
The export control system is intended to ensure that defence-related products, technology and services are only exported from Norway in accordance with Norwegian security and defence policy, and that exports of dual-use items do not contribute to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical and biological weapons) or their means of delivery ...
Several interesting cases have been decided both by the ordinary courts and by other dispute resolution bodies over the past year. We have also observed some emerging trends in dispute resolution. Key decisions from the Supreme Court include HR-2024-550-A. which involved the ownership of minerals. The landowner’s side was represented by SVW partners Øystein Nore Nyhus and Christian Reusch. From the insurance sector, HR-2024-2040-A is noteworthy ...
Extension of the Act’s scope to number-independent interpersonal communications services (NI-ICS) The new Act broadens the definition of an «electronic communications service» to encompass number-independent interpersonal communication services (NI-ICS). NI-ICS refers to person-to-person communications services that do not connect to numbers within a national or international number plan, nor facilitate communication with such numbers ...
Overview As part of the 2020-2025 EU Gender Equality Strategy, the so-called Women on Boards Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2381 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022 on improving the gender balance among directors of listed companies and related measures) was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 7th December 2022 ...
The financing activity in the Norwegian market in 2024 has been positively affected by stable interest rates and inflation levels on a downward trajectory. The US, the EU and Sweden have started their planned interest rate cuts. Although the expectation at the start of the year was that the Norwegian Central Bank would cut interest rates in 2024, a strong labour market and a weak currency have resulted in zero interest rate cuts so far ...
It has been an interesting year. Trade, and therefore, shipping can only circumnavigate the persisting and many awful geopolitical challenges. The Shipping industry’s commitment to improvement continues, both introvert (governance) and extrovert (environment and social responsibility). The Norwegian shipping cluster pioneers still in those areas, not least on the development of technologies and infrastructure toward minimizing impact on the environment ...
In this newsletter, we take a look at selected relevant employment law cases from 2024 and examine what employers should learn from them in practice. Through these cases, we discuss, for example, discrimination based on membership in employees' union, harmonization of salaries, and the employer's obligation to offer alternative work ...
Welcome to the new half-yearly review of Krogerus' highlights! In this newsletter, we will share recent case highlights, firm news and insights. Foreword As 2024 draws to a close, it has been a busy year at Krogerus, despite challenging market conditions and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. While there is still a degree of darkness and uncertainty in the world, we are seeing positive signs in the transactional market, which often signal the start of economic recovery ...
Monika Machlik is one of Norway’s leading female chess players. She has been playing chess at a high level since she won the «miniputt» class in the national championship for girls at the age of ten, and made her debut on the national A-team at the age of fifteen. Monika is the reigning Norwegian champion in women’s blitz chess and has qualified to represent Norway at the upcoming World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York during the Christmas season ...
