Houst’s Restructuring Plan was sanctioned last week. It was notable because of its size, that is, the company is very small compared with the financial giants which have used the process so far - and because it used the cram-down facility to overrule HMRC in its status as a secondary preferential creditor ...
Even though Belgium is lagging behind when it comes to enacting specific legislation, companies doing business in Belgium should be aware of the risk of being held accountable for human rights violations or environmental pollution up or down their value chain. Human rights violations are a ‘hot’ topic and businesses are confronted with ethical challenges in this respect ...
The Government has announced the dates for implementation of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022. Overseas entities with prospective or existing land holdings in the UK must plan for the impact of the Act. The Act implements plans to address hidden foreign investment in the UK as part of the government’s strategy to crack down on overseas criminals using UK property for money-laundering ...
Please be informed that a new Counter-Sanctions Regime of Making Payments in IP-Related Agreements in Russia was established by the Presidential Decree No. 322 dated May 27th, 2022 “On the temporary procedure for fulfilling obligations in respect of certain right holders” (“Decree No. 322”). It came into force on the date of signing. Download the file to see more. https://alrud ...
Impact on the activity of the pharmaceutical industry At the end of 2021, two laws were published to regulate the general framework for the prevention of corruption in the activity of companies: (i) Decree-Law 109-E/2021 of 9 December, which establishes the general rules for the prevention of corruption (“RGPC”) and (ii) Law 93/2021 of 20 December, which creates rules to protect whistleblowers (“RJPDI”) ...
Chloe, the assistance cat, has hit the headlines of several newspapers over the past few weeks, following her owner (Mr Fenn) bringing a claim under the Equality Act 2010 against Sainsbury’s supermarkets after they refused Chloe’s entry to the store. Mr Fenn has autism; a consequence of his autism is that he experiences sensory overload in busy places such as the supermarket and he states that Chloe helps him to focus ...
Background The Malta Financial Services Authority has recently introduced changes to the investment services rulebooks for Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) management companies (ManCos) and Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs) to: (i) transpose the Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2021/1270 amending Directive 2010/43/EU (1) as regards the sustainability risks and sustainability factors to be taken into account fo
Fostering diversity and inclusion at the recruitment stage has a beneficial impact, not least in terms of increased applications and a greater likelihood of attracting the right talent to your organisation. Here are our top tips for getting it right. Consider alternative talent pools It is well publicised that vacancies are at record highs, with currently more vacancies than people in work ...
In a ruling of 19 April 2022, the Belgian Supreme Court decided that an A1-certificate issued by a competent foreign authority to a posted worker does not exclude compliance with the DIMONA obligation. Does this mean that all foreign employers posting employees to Belgium must now file both a LIMOSA and a DIMONA declaration? This article sheds some light on the scope of the Supreme Court’s decision and the particular context in which it was taken ...
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 On 25 July, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 of 6 April 2022 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 of the European Parliament and of the Council (“Delegated Regulation”) was published at the Official Journal of the European Union. The Delegated Regulation adopts Level 2 regulation on the sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services regulation, or SFDR, which enters into force on 1 January 2023 ...
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by commercial tenants against the High Court’s summary judgment rulings ordering them to pay rent arrears notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic ...
On 21 July 2022, Baroness Heather Hallett issued an opening statement in respect of the COVID-19 Inquiry ('the Inquiry'). As Chair, Baroness Hallett expressed her determination to “run the Inquiry as thoroughly and as efficiently as possible” and “to undertake and conclude the work of this Inquiry as speedily as possible so that lessons are learned before another pandemic strikes ...
Does the recent High Court decision in Butler-Sloss and Others -v- The Charity Commission and the Attorney General change the law on how charity trustees should approach investing their funds? The short answer is “no”. The decision is a reinterpretation of the 30-year-old decision in the Bishop of Oxford case for our modern world and a reinstatement of the fundamental duty of charity trustees to act in the best interests of their charities’ purposes ...
Dr Christine Calleja and Dr Warren Ciantar, in collaboration with 21 Malta, delivered a one hour presentation on the new rights introduced by the Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers Regulations, on Wednesday 20th July 2022. The main rights to be introduced by the Regulations will be paid paternal leave, partly paid parental leave and unpaid carer’s leave ...
The Supreme Court has handed down its decision in the claim of Harpur Trust v Brazel, which may have a significant impact on employers of part-year workers. Background Under the Working Time Regulations (“WTR”), workers are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ annual leave and to be paid holiday pay at a rate of a week’s pay ...
Background The Malta Financial Services Authority has informed investment firms of the amendments carried out to Part BI of the investment services rules for Investment Services Providers. These amendments seek to implement the provisions of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1253 ...
The recent Argos decision has partially overturned the Bakers of Nailsea decision in relation to summary only offences and the requirements of Criminal Procedure Rules. Public prosecutions begin after an authorised body applies to the magistrates’ court for a summons alleging an offence. The rules underpinning this process are in the Criminal Procedure Rules (CrimPR) Part 7 (and associated Practice Direction). One such rule, CrimPR 7 ...
A year after Ms Maya Forstater succeeded in establishing in the Employment Appeal Tribunal that gender-critical beliefs are a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010, she has won two of her claims for direct discrimination and one claim for victimisation. Employers need to tread very carefully both to balance individual employees' rights to hold sometimes conflicting protected beliefs and to foster a culture that is truly inclusive ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 emissions: Fuel and Energy-Related Activities. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’ ...
We are pleased to introduce our Regulatory Compliance Quarterly Updates. These updates are intended to keep Maltese regulated entities informed of regulatory changes and developments taking place in the local financial services space. In this issue, we focus on the sector specific and cross-sectoral regulatory updates relating to Investment Services and Asset Management. Our first Regulatory Compliance Quarterly Update can be found here ...
Daniil Lozovsky, Senior Attorney of the Competition/Antitrust Practice, and Grigory Viktorov, Junior Attorney of Competition/Antitrust Practice prepared an article “The new foreign direct investments regime in Russia” in Mergers & Acquisitions Expert Guide 2022 published by the Corporate LiveWire magazine. The article is aimed at informing the readers on the new FDI regime, the corresponding legal basis and the related matters ...
This article explores the importance of protecting your cryptocurrency investment by having access to the ‘private key’. Without it, you are not really in control of that cryptocurrency and can’t prove you are the true ‘owner’ of it. Crypto, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, blockchain – exciting, enticing, and quickly becoming a favoured source of investment ...
In light of the sanctions imposed, ALRUD experts have prepared an Overview of Russian Counter-Sanctions measures that have been taken in response to the actions of unfriendly countries since 24 February 2022. The overview focuses on: Russian counter-sanctions measures Liability Prospects for foreign business Recent trends in litigation and arbitration Assumptions and limitations The review is updated on an ongoing basis. Follow the link to learn more ...
Merger control is an integral part of competition law. The Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) enforces the Norwegian merger control rules. Notification to the NCA is compulsory before closing and implementing all mergers and acquisitions that bring about a structural «change of control» in the market and exceed the national turnover thresholds ...
