In our previous ezines we tracked the progress of the Alcohol Products (Control of Advertising, Sponsorship and Marketing Practices/Sales Promotions) Bill. The Bill was set to have a major impact on the relationship between alcohol advertising and sport in Ireland but a recent controversial turnabout by the Government means that the Bill may never be enacted ...
Summary: On 1 July 2005, the 7th amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen – “GWB”) entered into force. It implies major changes in German competition law. The objective of the amendment is to harmonize German with European competition law. In principle, cases having only a national scope will now be judged by similar provisions as cases that have a European dimension ...
Experts agree that good privacy begins with effective transparency. Transparency requires privacy notices that are easy to understand, facilitate comparison, and are actionable. A system of privacy notices also must be compliant with legal requirements that may be different from country to country, and jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Research on how people learn has helped us understand that easy-to read notices must be short, use plain language, and be in a common format ...
On November 24, 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision in the case of Mikisew Cree First Nation v. Canada (Minister of Canadian Heritage).(1) In the decision, the Supreme Court confirmed that, while governments have the power under treaties to authorize land uses which infringe on treaty rights, the exercise of that power imposes on governments a duty to consult where the taking up of land adversely affects those rights ...
The structure of Stock Companies consists of three organs: The General Meeting of Shareholders, as the supreme organ; the Board of Directors, as an administrative organ; and the Supervisor or Supervisors, as the supervision organ. The Board of Directors is a collegiate organ whose members are shareholders periodically elected by the General Meeting of Shareholders and which function is to perform all the acts of administration, representing the company before third parties ...
The first idea that we may conceive only by reading the title of the present article is: What signals may constitute a trademark?, the answer to this question is given by section 3 of the Law No. 380 “General Law on Trade Marks and Other Distinctive Signs”, published in The Gazette No. 70, of April 16 th 2001, which is the norm regulating this matter ...
Commission decision in Case No. COMP/39.116/B-2 – Coca-Cola issued pursuant to Article 9(1) of the Council Regulation 1/2003 On 22 June 2005 the Commission adopted a decision under Article 9(1) of the Council Regulation no. 1/2003 approving commitments offered by the Coca-Cola Company, Bottling Holding (Luxembourg), Coca-Cola Erfrischugsgetränke AG and Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (hereinafter "Coca-Cola") on 19 October 2004 ...
Judgement of the European Court of Justice in case C-287/03 – Commission v. Belgium, dated 12 May 2005 The decision follows an action of the Commission against Belgium for breach of Article 49 of the EC Treaty providing for the free movement of services. The Commission alleged that the way in which the prohibition of a “linked offer” under Belgian law was applied constituted an obstacle to free movement ...
Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ [2005] L 149) – hereinafter the “Directive” The Directive is aimed at approximation of laws of the Member States regul
Academics and commentators in general have always been interested in the study of the enforcement process in regulatory agencies. In the last years, with the rise of the regulatory state[1] and thus the increased number of regulatory agencies, the number of studies has only increased. There is an important amount of literature on the subject and an increasing number of theories and models to explain regulatory enforcement ...
In the Matter of Swanpool Ltd (in Voluntary Liquidation) and Travelodge Ltd (in Voluntary Liquidation) and in the Matter of Section 150 of the Companies Act 1990; McLaughlin v Lannen and Lannen, High Court, Clarke J, 4 November 2005 Facts: McLaughlin, the liquidator of Swanpool and Travelodge, sought a declaration that two directors of the companies be restricted (i.e. prohibited from acting as directors of companies for 5 years) ...
In the Matter of James McMenamin Ltd. (in Voluntary Liquidation), High Court, Laffoy J, 18 April 2005 Facts: In this case, a company in liquidation suddenly found funds that were previously unavailable, in an amount that would allow it to trade successfully again. Therefore, one of the contributories of the company sought to have the liquidation halted so that the company could resume trading as normal. The company’s sole asset was a 26-acre plot of land ...
On December 6, 2005 the British Columbia Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Hupacasath First Nation v. British Columbia(1). In this decision, the court held that Crown’s duty to consult with first nations, as articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada in Haida Nation(2) and Taku River,(3) extends to government decisions regarding planning, development and use of private land ...
“We consider that the Competition Act, 2002 captures the bulk of the anti-competitive practices which the Groceries Order was originally designed to prevent. However, we consider it desirable to significantly strengthen the Act in some respects and particularly to specially prohibit resale price maintenance, unfair discrimination and “hello money”. Such provisions will, henceforth, be enforced by the Competition Authority ...
Great fanfare surrounded the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 a year ago. The FOI legislation was hailed as a success in changing the culture of government. But while most public sector organisations have now come to grips with the workings of the FOI legislation, many have overlooked an associated set of regulations that came into effect at the start of this summer ...
Scottish Enterprise has a number of schemes to make it easier for small to medium-sized businesses to access growth funding, such as a loan, equity finance - where the investors take shares in your company - or a combination of the two ...
The new Irish Commercial Court is living up to expectations by providing a fast and effective means of resolving commercial disputes. A&L Goodbody recently secured for a full hearing within two days of a case being accepted by the Court. The matter involved an arbitrator's referral of a point of law. The speed as well as the terms of decision were crucial in protecting the client's interest ...
The 18th Session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People’s Congress adopted the amended Company Law of the of the People’s Republic of China on 27 October 2005. President Hu Jintao promulgated the Law on the same date. The Law, which enters into effect on 1 January 2006, is a significant reform of the Company Law. It simplifies company establishment requirements and statutorily expands the rights of shareholders in PRC companies ...
At the 18th Session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People’s Congress held on 27 October 2005 amendments to the Securities Law of the of the People’s Republic of China were adopted. The amendments, which were promulgated by President Hu Jintao on 27 October 2005 and enter into effect on 1 January 2006, represent a significant reform of the Law which was first promulgated in 1999 ...
The State Council passed the Regulations of the People's Republic of China for the Administration of Production Licences for Industrial Products on 29 June 2005. The Regulations were promulgated by premier Wen Jiabao on 9 July 2005 and entered into effect on 1 September 2005. The Regulations repeal the Trial Regulations for Industrial Product Production Permits promulgated by the State Council on 7 April 1984 ...
The State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Information Industry issued the Regulations for the Administration of Internet News Information Services on 25 September 2005. The Regulations, which entered into effect on the date of their promulgation, impose licensing and recordal requirements on providers of online news information services in China ...
Great fanfare surrounded the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 a year ago. The FOI legislation was hailed as a success in changing the culture of government. But while most public sector organisations have now come to grips with the workings of the FOI legislation, many have overlooked an associated set of regulations that came into effect at the start of this summer ...
Gas Natural’s high profile courting of Endesa has had a choppy ride on the roller coaster ship of public takeovers. Not only is the desired companion resisting the marriage, but also is she summoning the high waves of competition law in her defence. Not much of the public debate of the competition law aspects is focussed on the merits of perhaps one of the last industry transforming mergers in the Spanish energy markets ...
On 13 December 2005, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") found Marks and Spencer plc ("M&S") could claim group tax relief from UK tax authorities in relation to the losses incurred by its former European subsidiaries that had ceased trading in Belgium, France and Germany in 2001. M&S argued that just as UK resident companies in a group may set off their profits and losses among themselves, so the same should be possible for the losses of foreign subsidiaries ...
Some important changes to the Act respecting the legal publicity of sole proprietorships, partnerships and legal persons (the “Act”) took place effective January 1st, 2006.The Act generally applies to all legal persons, partnerships and individuals carrying on an activity in the Province of Québec and requires those entities to register with the Enterprise registrar ...
