The current Temporary Agency Workers Regulations (S.L. 452.106) regulate temporary agency workers, transposing Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on temporary agency work into Maltese law. This legislation is meant to ensure equality of treatment between temporary agency workers and employees of the user undertaking (the entity for which the temporary agency workers would be providing their services) ...
On the 24th of April 2024 the European Parliament (hereunder the ‘EP’) adopted the Proposal for the amendments to the Directive 2014/49/EU as regards the scope of deposit protection, use of deposit guarantee schemes funds, cross-border cooperation and transparency (the Directive hereunder referred to as the ‘DGSD’) ...
The Automated Vehicles Act (the Act) regulates the marketing of self-driving vehicles, prohibiting the use of misleading terminology or communications that could confuse consumers. In this article Ben Gardner explores how the use of terminology that could mislead consumers will be regulated. The Act has now received Royal Assent and creates a regulatory framework which applies to the deployment and use of automated vehicles on UK roads ...
On 3 May 2024, the Court of Session upheld the Scottish Ministers’ decision to refuse Miller Homes Ltd planning permission for 250 houses in West Calder. The decision is the first occasion on which the Court has considered Policy 16 of the NPF4 (Quality Homes) and confirms the approach to be adopted when considering applications for development of unallocated housing sites in the absence of an adopted local development plan postdating NPF4 ...
With the race to develop AIs, the intellectual property protection for them is an increasingly vexed subject. The UK Intellectual Property Office’s (UKIPO) new guidelines may help. The issue European and UK patent law excludes from patent protection inventions relating solely to a program for a computer or a mathematical method. The exception to this is where there is a ‘technical contribution’ to the state of the art ...
As employers begin to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the workplace, its growing use within the recruitment process means that the potential risks of its implementation need to be considered. The Responsible Technology Adoption Unit (RTA) has published guidance to assist HR and recruitment organisations on how to use AI responsibly ...
Following the announcement of a UK general election, set for Thursday 4 July 2024, the real estate industry now has a unique opportunity to pro-actively engage with policymakers on sustainability – helping shape future regulation and strategy to support meeting the industry’s net zero targets ...
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (the Bill) completed the legislative process and received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 and is now law. The changes introduced by the Bill include better protection for consumers in relation to subscription contracts, regulation of fake reviews, the display of ecommerce pricing information (to avoid ‘drip pricing’) and enhanced enforcement measures (including GDPR style fines) against non-compliant traders ...
On 15th April 2024, Bill No. 96 titled the ‘Companies (Amendment) Bill’ was presented to Parliament by the Minister for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects for its first reading. The Bill was subsequently passed as Act No. XVIII of 2024 (the ‘Act’) on the 17th May 2024 ...
When the Second Payment Services Directive1 (‘PSD2’) replaced the First Payment Service Directive, the European Union (‘EU’) introduced the requirement of Strong Customer Authentication (‘SCA’). SCA enhances the security of electronic payments through additional layers of authentication with the aim to mitigate payment fraud ...
Our Employment and Benefits practice group recently organised an afternoon seminar focusing on current and upcoming topics in the field of employment law and within the labour market in Finland. This article dives deeper into some of the topics discussed during the successful afternoon at Krogerus and gives a brief overview on what to expect in the coming months in the field of employment law ...
On 17 April 2024, the JCT Design and Build 2024 (JCT DB 2024) was published. This is the first contract published in the new JCT 2024 suite, with further contracts set to be published on a rolling basis over the coming year. There are some notable changes, but overall the JCT has taken a balanced approach on the extent of the changes, building on the previous JCT Design and Build 2016 (JCT DB 2016). An understanding of the key changes is essential for those looking to adopt the new form ...
Our Energy practice group has been following the progress of the legislative project which aims to clarify the requirements and processes for offshore wind power in the Finnish exclusive economic zone ("EEZ"). On 23 May 2024, the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment ("Ministry") held a third stakeholder meeting to inform and discuss in detail the draft government proposal, which has just been submitted for consultation ...
Finland and Sweden secure key arms procurement under EU security exemption The Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command has finalized a framework agreement with the Swedish Defence Materiel Agency and Finnish arms manufacturer Sako Oy. This agreement – critical for the enhancement of both nations’ military capabilities – bypasses conventional public procurement procedures, invoking Article 346(1)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ...
A General Election will be held on 4 July 2024. In this article, Sarah Jenkins considers what that might mean for the pensions industry What does the General Election mean for pensions? It has been a busy time for the pensions industry of late - a new policy, consultation or legislation seemingly appeared each month. However, the pensions plates are not the only ones which the Government has been spinning, and much of the planned pension reform has not yet made it to the statute books ...
On 15 May 2024 a new report, titled 'Skills 2030; Building a World-Class Skills System' was launched in Westminster. Below are our key recommendations of the report and what it could mean for the automotive sector. The report includes contributions from multiple industries and sector leaders including the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), Jisc, The University of Derby and The University of Warwick ...
The Federation Council clarified how the Russian Digital Code will look like Work on the ****Digital Code****, which will become the basis for legal regulation of relations in the field of ****information**** and ****digital technologies****, will take at least another ****year****, and a significant part of the future document is planned to be devoted to the protection of ****personal**** and ****biometric data**** ...
Øystein Nore Nyhus is an experienced real estate and dispute lawyer. He has provided advice and dispute resolution services in a number of complex real estate development projects, both commercial and residential. Additionally, Øystein has significant experience assisting actors in the mineral extraction and mining industry ...
On 16 May, a letter was signed by over 50 participants and groups from the digital asset industry. They sent it to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging them to back a Bill (HR 4763, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act or “FIT 21”). FIT 21 is expected to be debated and voted on this week ...
The Automated Vehicles Act has received Royal Assent after a smooth and quick passage through parliament. In this article, Ben Gardner outlines what organisations in the sector can expect to happen next. What is the Automated Vehicles Act? The Act lays the foundations for the future deployment of automated vehicles on public roads ...
HR teams have a lot on their plate, but a key priority for 2024 is undoubtedly protecting the employee brand proposition. Our 2024 online programme is focused on supporting HR teams to do just this, equipping them with the tools they need to protect the employee brand proposition of the organisations they work for. Our latest webinar focused on what organisations need to do to protect their employee data ...
When the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) first invited comments in 2018 on the wide-ranging topic of termination of leases, it sought views not only on those elements which were subsequently covered in its draft bill, the Leases (Automatic Continuation etc) (Scotland) (Bill) published in 2022, but also on the Tenancy of Shops (Scotland) Act 1949 ...
The Russian government has approved draft amendments to the Russian Criminal Code that increase the severity of punishment for leaks of personal data (“PD”) The amendments have changed slightly compared with the version adopted in the first reading ...
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen! Most of the products imported to Russia are subject to strict regulations under Russian and EAEU1 laws. They are regulated by: The general legislation of Federal Law No. 184-FZ dated 27 December 2002 “On Technical Regulation”, which is applied in the absence of special regulation; Special technical regulations for certain types of goods, e.g ...
When assessing your business assets, IP might not be at the front of your mind, but it could be one of your most valuable assets as it’s at the heart of your business. This article provides a whistlestop tour of the IP assets that are important to consider ...