The insurance industry typically has a significant role to play in public inquiries, and in this article we consider this from the perspective of insurance companies and policyholders. The Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett DBE has been appointed Chair of the upcoming UK COVID-19 Inquiry (“the Inquiry”) and we currently await publication of the Terms of Reference, which will determine the scope of the investigation ...
On 25 May 2022, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its new 10-year strategy (“the Strategy”) which will inform its activities until 2032. As recognised in the Foreword, “the organisation’s role and responsibilities are growing, particularly in the areas of building safety, chemicals regulation and supporting sustainable, healthy, workplace practices ...
If you have been doing business with entities in the European Union, chances are that you have struggled to figure out how to transfer data from the EU to the US without running afoul of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You are not alone. The EU and US have struggled to create “adequate” safeguards for the transfer of personal data since 2000. The first set of guidelines, the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles, was adopted in 2000 ...
Budget 2016 Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan did not mention the proposed carbon tax (the “tax”) in his Budget Speech delivered on 24 February 2016. Curiously, given the emotion that has surrounded the idea of the tax since 2010, when it was first formalised in a Treasury discussion paper, commentary on the implications of the Minister’s apparent omission has been muted or non-existent ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on The Covid-19 Public Inquiry - Spotlight on the Care Sector. What is a Public Inquiry? A public inquiry is a state sponsored investigation into areas of public concern. Inquiries are set up and sponsored by the government, but they operate independently of the government. All inquiries have powers to compel the attendance of witnesses or provision of evidence ...
Clients with European Union (“EU”) trade marks, registered designs and EP patents may be wondering what will happen to their IP protection in the United Kingdom (“UK”) now that the nation has voted to leave the EU.The good news is that EU IP rights extending to the UK will not be affected in the short-term. The European Patent Office is not an EU institution, so the leave vote will have no effect on EP patents ...
As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to spread rapidly throughout the United States—and the world—commercial relationships are being thrown into disarray, resulting in the disruption of supply chains, cancellations of events, and closures of restaurants and other businesses. Several states have declared a state of emergency (including banning large group gatherings and mandating that certain business shutter for the time being) ...
On April 24, 2020, Governor Whitmer reaffirmed the stay-at-home measures set forth in Executive Order 2020-42, amended the scope of that order, and extended the duration of such measures through May 15, 2020 (unless modified earlier). While many of the restrictions from her prior executive orders remain in place, Executive Order 2020-59 includes some easing of in-person operation restrictions as well as some corresponding requirements for those operations ...
When is one a shareholder or member of a company? This issue was recently considered by the Supreme Court of Uganda in Matthew Rukikaire v Incafex Limited, which ruled that a person who has not fully paid up their shares may be considered a member and shareholder of a company with rights to full participation in the affairs of the company to the extent allowed by the types of shares they hold ...
The Corona crisis is not only a huge challenge for health care, but also the consequences for the economy will be enormous. Different sectors (such as the hospitality sector and the transport sector) will not be able to overcome the difficult times we are currently facing without public support ...
25 July marks World In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) day (or World Embryologist Day) recognising the day in 1978 the first baby was born following successful IVF treatment. To mark the day, we ask what employers can do to support employees undertaking IVF. Background Louise Joy Brown was the first ever baby in the world to be born following IVF treatment ...
Brexit, the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, raises many questions and some are related to intellectual property issues. There are a few anticipated changes to IP rights due to Brexit. Here is a summary of some key issues, and what could happen next. Trademarks and Designs Proceduresfor treatment of EU trademarks will need to be an element of the negotiations for the UK in leaving the EU ...
President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA” or “the Act”) into law on March 18. The Act requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded Family and Medical Leave Act rights, subject to exceptions for certain healthcare providers, emergency responders, and businesses with fewer than 50 employees if compliance would jeopardize the business as a going concern ...
With virtual currencies such as Bitcoin becoming ever more popular and accessible, it is important that South African taxpayers carefully consider the tax and exchange control uncertainties that accompany the incorporation of these relatively new systems into businesses and/or investment portfolios. We highlight below some of the tax and exchange control consequences arising from transactions involving Bitcoin ...
What is changing with how prudential regulators view fintech partnerships? How is this affecting financial institutions TPRM programs? Prudential regulators appear to be acknowledging the role that fintech partnerships have in the marketplace, both to expand banking services to previous unbanked/underbanked populations, and to allow smaller, regional banks to develop new markets for their services ...
Are delivery obligations between businesses still to be fulfilled? In principle, commercial contracts and the rights and obligations contained therein remain legally binding, despite the official measures taken to prevent the spreading of COVID-19. However, in connection with travel contracts, the Austrian Supreme Court qualified the outbreak of the infectious disease SARS as a force majeure event that made it unreasonable to perform the contract ...
Limited Companies (LCs) and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) are corporate structures that exist as separate legal entities and afford members limited liability. LCs and LLPs can enter into contracts, hold property, sue and be sued, grant fixed and floating charges and are subject to similar disclosure, accounting and filing requirements. The main distinction between them is that while an LC is treated as a taxable entity an LLP’s members are taxed as individuals ...
“ESG” is an acronym that is being used with growing frequency across the investment community. ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance criteria, which are increasingly used by socially conscious investors when deciding whether or not to invest in a company. Environmental criteria are effectively a company’s green credentials. Social criteria relate to the people the company works with and the community it serves ...
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have been forced to work from home and this has created new opportunities and very fertile ground for the emergence of cyber threats. Accordingly, on 29 April 2020, the Intermediaries Supervision Department of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular (Circular) containing examples of controls and procedures firms can put in place to manage their cybersecurity risks ...
The recent Kenyan High Court judgment in the case of Sony Corporation v Sony Holdings Limited (a decision of Judge Tuiyoyy dated 29 May 2018) has attracted considerable attention. Much of the talk has been around the fact that Sony, arguably one of the best known brands in the world, was denied protection as a well-known trade mark. But there’s more to this judgment than that ...
This article is written byMarko Ketlerand originally published in Issue 6.4 of theCEE Legal Matters Magazine. After a few troublesome years during the global financial crisis, it seems like Slovenia is on a positive economic route again. On December 14, 2018, S&P Global Ratings affirmed an “A+/A-1” credit rating for Slovenia with a positive outlook ...
