The Scottish Government has recently unveiled its long-awaited proposal for financing and delivering major public projects in Scotland. The initiative, the Scottish Futures Trust (the SFT), will replace the widely-criticised Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and heralds a golden opportunity for the delivery of high quality projects which represent value for money for the taxpayer ...
Last December 23, the Supreme Court of Canada partially overturned the decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal in the case of Cinar Corporation v. Robinson1 and reinstated most of the conclusions of the Quebec Superior Court. BACKGROUND In the 1980s, Claude Robinson (“Robinson”) developed a project for a television series entitled “The Adventures of Robinson Curiosity” (“Robinson Curiosity”). He partnered with Pathonic to whom he had presented his project ...
Whether you are a sceptic, a convert or a believer, there is undoubtedly compelling scientific evidence of global warming, and that climate change is upon us. Legislation enacted by both Westminster and Holyrood sets challenging targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions over the next decades. The carbon footprint of buildings is responsible for around 50% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK ...
The real estate sector is among the most important in Mozambique and enjoys incentives from the State. Access to land is crucial to investment in this sector.As land in Mozambique is the property of the State and, for this reason, cannot be sold, mortgaged or charged, besides occupation, the only vehicles the law provides for access to land are the right to use and benefit from land - Direito de Uso and Aproveitamento da Terra “DUAT”) or Special Licences ...
As the first of several deadlines under the Qualified Opportunity Zone (“QOZ”) program rapidly approaches, investors still on the sidelines are discovering that time is running out on the ability to take advantage of the full suite of tax benefits under the program. December 31, 2019 marks the last day in which investors may roll over capital gains into Qualified Opportunity Funds (“QOF”) and obtain a 15% reduction in the amount of the deferred gain ...
Experts from Shoosmiths and BDO recently led a panel discussion regarding the upcoming introduction of Solent’s Freeport. Shoosmiths’ Kirsten Hewson (head of real estate), Stephen Porter (head of corporate) and Solent office head Paula Swain (also a board member of the Solent Freeport Consortium & Solent LEP) discussed the upcoming development. Also on the panel were Cllr ...
The LA CAPITALE Ruling has been expected since 2009, when the Superior Court authorized a Class Action against an insureer who had unilateraly modified the Waiver of Premiums Clause in a group insurance contract in 2001 ...
Switch2 Energy, Shoosmiths and BEIS have come together to provide an update on how regulation, rising energy prices and decarbonisation targets are impacting heat network operators and customers. This second webinar, in a series of three, looks at what to do with existing buildings in relation to heat networks ...
Switch2 Energy, Shoosmiths and HermeticaBlack came together to discuss procurement and delivery of new, low cost, low carbon heat networks ...
On December 23, 2015, the Ontario Court of Appeal1 set aside a decision of the motion judge2 which had granted a motion for summary judgment brought by the insurer to dismiss a claim by its insured.FactsThe insured had entered into an agreement with a contractor to restore the exterior cladding of her home. The restoration process involved the use of water jets. The contractor was first required to seal all areas where water might enter the interior of the home ...
Given the current economic climate, it has been a busy year for all lenders, but coupled with the biggest overhaul of Consumer Credit Law since 1974, with the introduction of Consumer Credit Act 2006, the changes for this year are not over yet. On 1 December 2008 the OFT has released a new arrears and default information sheet. You can obtain a copy of the new statements the following link: http://www.oft.gov ...
The proposal for a directive on the recovery and resolution of insurance and reinsurance companies enshrines the no creditor worse off principle as provided for in the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (“BRRD”). This opens the door for the Portuguese legislature to repeat the mistakes it made when incorporating the BRRD into Portuguese law ...
Federal infrastructure funding is coming to North Carolina and Pennsylvania! Recently, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced an award of $1.2 billion in grants for nine projects around the country. This includes projects in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The funding for these projects is coming from the new National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) discretionary grant program ...
Things change over time. This is also the case in the timesharing business. The European legislator, who is well aware of this and already dealt with this type of business by adopting a directive on 26 October 1994, has recently adopted a new legislative act dealing with timesharing, thus bringing European legislation up-to-date. It was deemed necessary to modify the former European legislation to the evolutions in the business ...
The new Register of Persons Holding a Controlled interest in Land (RCI) will come into force in Scotland on 1 April 2022. The purpose of this article is to highlight the key points of the regulations behind the RCI1 and how they may affect landowners and tenants of registrable leases (being those longer than 20 years) in Scotland ...
“Therein the patient must minister to himself” (Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 3) With only seven days to go before the expiry on 1 April 2010 of the previous insurance block exemption, the European Commission adopted a new exemption, albeit in very much reduced form ...
The New Homes Quality Code has been published and this article sets out some initial aspects for housebuilders to consider. After a consultation process lasting almost five years, the New Homes Quality Code (the Code) and Developer Guidance were published by the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) on 17 December 2021. The Code will replace the current Consumer Code for Home Builders and will apply across the UK for the benefit of purchasers buying new build homes for their own occupation ...
On 11 January 2020 a new leasing law was introduced in the Dubai International Financial Centre, Law 1 of 2020 (the New Law); and on 14 January 2020 the associated regulations were issued (the Regulations).The New Law and Regulations are an important development for the DIFC. We expect that they will have a positive impact on the real estate market ...
The National Security and Investment Bill will allow government intervention in transactions raising national security concerns. It will require investors in UK real estate to consider whether the regime applies and factor in any timetabling implications. The Bill is currently being examined in the House of Lords. It will introduce an independent screening regime in the UK where a transaction gives rise to national security concerns ...
On August 25th, the Court of Appeal, for the reasons of Justice Nicholas Kasirer(1), rendered a significant decision(2) with regard to the duty of care required from ski instructors and the assessment of damages awarded to a victim who developed a serious neurological disorder resulting from a ski accident.In their capacity as tutors of their child (referred to as “X” in the judgment), as well as in their personal capacity, Plaintiffs claimed damages for approximately $3 ...
As part of President Jokowi Widodo’s plan to issue “investment friendly” regulations, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (“MPW”) revoked MPW Regulation No. 09/PRT/M/2019 on Guidelines on Licensing Services for Foreign Construction Business Entities (“MPW Reg 9/2019”) on 18 November 2019 under MPW Regulation 17/PRT/M/2019 (“MPW Reg 17/2019”) ...
