South Africa’s efforts to tackle climate change are intensifying as government looks to sharpen its focus on emissions reductions. The Climate Change Act, signed on 23 July 2024, underscores this commitment, which is aimed at streamlining the country’s response to climate change and to further pave the way toward a low-carbon, resilient economy ...
Carey Olsen advises MNRPF on £450 million longevity swap transfer The transaction, which will form part of MNPRF's investment portfolio, protects MNRPF against longevity risk and enhances security for MNRPF members. The Carey Olsen Guernsey corporate team advising on the transaction comprised partner Tony Lane and senior associate Arya Hashemi. Linklaters acted as onshore counsel for the trustee and Eversheds Sutherland acted as onshore counsel for MetLife ...
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has released its long-anticipated final rule on patent fee adjustments (“Final Rule”). Set to take effect January 19, 2025, these changes represent the most significant fee restructuring since 2020. The changes aim to generate sufficient revenue to recover the USPTO's operational costs, while promoting efficient patent prosecution practices. Here's what patent applicants and owners need to understand about the upcoming changes ...
Carey Olsen advises Keyex Limited on successful application for registration as a BVI VASP Keyex provides a platform for cryptocurrency exchange including buying, storing, trading and selling digital assets. Its registration is amongst the first to be approved under the VASP Act, which aims to position the BVI as a leading jurisdiction for digital asset innovation globally ...
The European Blockchain Sandbox (the ‘Sandbox’) is a pan-European dialogue between innovators who come up with particularly interesting, original and useful applications for blockchain technology, and the relevant regulatory authorities that would be involved in such a project. The Sandbox is running from 2023 to 2026 and each year is supporting 20 use cases on the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) ...
Stay up-to-date with the ****latest developments in labour law related to employee remuneration****. These updates are essential for ensuring accurate payroll calculations, particularly in cases of employment termination, and for aligning local regulations with current legal requirements. New Minimum Wage Effective January 1, 2025, a revised minimum wage for a standard monthly work schedule will come into force ...
Hot on the heels of the Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 coming into force, the new government announced preliminary steps in its Autumn Budget to reform the business rates system. The key changes introduced by the Act, combined with the proposals outlined in the Budget, are set to have a major impact on businesses in the coming years ...
Oxford University launched at the COP29 Meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Climate Policy Monitor, a granular survey of 30 major countries’ climate-related policies and their effectiveness in mitigating climate change. The study was developed by researchers at the University of Oxford through pro-bono partnerships with 48 leading law firms, including SyCipLaw, which provided data and analysis on the Philippines’ climate policies ...
SyCipLaw has contributed the Philippine chapter in the latest edition of The Legal 500: International Arbitration Comparative Guide. Senior Partner and Head of Litigation Department Ricardo Ma. P.G. Ongkiko co-authored the chapter with Partners Anthony W. Dee, John Christian Joy A. Regalado, and Ma. Patricia B. Paz-Jacoba ...
Siri comes to us from her role as a private practice lawyer at Legal in Stavanger. With more than two decades of experience as a corporate lawyer, she has worked with major international entities in the oil and gas sector, including Aker Solutions, Subsea 7, Aibel, and Archer. Additionally, Siri led the contracts and legal department for Acergy’s Asia and Middle East region in Singapore for a period ...
Family offices which choose to manage their global investments from Malta have been given a new legal exemption through a recent amendment in the applicable investment services rulebook of the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”). On the 27th of November 2024, the MFSA issued a circular titled “Establishment of Single Family Offices in Malta” ...
Nearly four years after the coming into force of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (?CUSMA? or the ?Agreement?), U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on November 25 that he intends to implement a 25% tariff on all products entering the United States from Canada and Mexico, starting on the first day of his presidency, January 20 ...
The Gaming Authority has already initiated an audit to identify which websites are subject to blocking, and many gambling companies have already received pre-warning letters from the Gaming Authority. Also, “circumvention” of the payment transaction ban (Norwegian banks are required to block payment transactions for foreign gambling offers) is now, according to the authorities, considered to be sufficient for a gambling offer to be “aimed at” Norway ...
The deadline for compliance with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights’ (“OCR”) recent update to the HIPAA Privacy Rule is December 22, 2024 — less than thirty days away ...
On November 26, 2024, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued its long-awaited decision in AutoZone Stores, Inc. v Indus. Comm., reversing the Tenth District’s interpretation of R.C. 4123.56(F) and indirectly restoring the employer-friendly doctrine of voluntary abandonment. See Slip Opinion 2024-Ohio-5519 here. In 2020, the Ohio legislature enacted the divisive R.C. 4123.56(F), which superseded any previous precedent on the issue of “voluntary abandonment ...
Carey Olsen advises Guernsey 'first of its kind' captive assisted buy-in The transaction involved the issue of a c£500 million BPA contract by M&G's wholly owned subsidiary, The Prudential Assurance Company Limited ("PAC"), to a UK pension trustee. As with a traditional buy-in transaction, under the BPA, PAC insures the trustee's liability to its pension scheme members ...
Artificial intelligence (‘AI’) is revolutionising various industries and in today’s consumer-driven world, ensuring the safety of products is of paramount importance, more so when considering the innovative products being placed on the market. At the core of the AI Act [1] are requirements that providers, manufacturers, importers, and distributors of AI systems must meet before making an AI system available for use or distribution on the Union market ...
Crypto currencies (also known as crypto assets) have seen rapid development since Bitcoin's emergence during the financial crisis in 2008. Due to their anonymity and privacy, crypto currencies are widely used for illegal and criminal activities and serve as a tool to evade judicial accountability. In response to the increasingly frequent criminal cases involving crypto currency, Chinese governments grapple with the complexities of judicial disposal at both policy and practice levels ...
On November 7, 2024, Bill C-244, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (diagnosis, maintenance and repair)1 received royal assent, adding a new exception to the provisions governing technological protection measures (TPM) in the Copyright Act (CA). This legislative amendment adds section 41.121 to the CA, making it legal to circumvent TPMs for product maintenance, repair and diagnosis. What it means The new section 41.121 is expected to have a limited impact on the Canadian repair market ...
Carey Olsen lawyers recognised in IFLR1000 2024 Caribbean rankings Among those featured, Carey Olsen has seven individuals considered to be 'Highly Regarded', one 'Rising Star Partner', three 'Notable Practitioners' and three 'Rising Stars' ...
On Oct. 10, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that TD Bank pled guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and agreed to pay over $1.8 billion in penalties to resolve the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act violations. When combined with agreements with the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the U.S ...
The Law Commission has published its much-anticipated consultation paper on proposed reform to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. This consultation asks a fundamental question: should a statutory scheme of security of tenure exist and if so, how should it operate? Commercial leases, from warehouse premises to offices and shops usually have a legal right to a new lease when the existing lease ends, unless the parties have agreed otherwise, or a landlord can meet one of a short list of exceptions ...
The new Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS2) came into effect on 18 October 2024 and with it comes an overhaul of the way in which cybersecurity risk management is regulated in Europe. In this article we cover the applicability of NIS2 to digital infrastructure providers and digital services providers (collectively “digital providers”), an expansion in scope under NIS2 that represents a major shift for the EU’s digital sector ...
An exploration of key aspects of the Employment Rights Bill which will impact living sector employers; day 1 right to claim unfair dismissal, changes to the use of zero hour contracts and the extension of the duty to protect employees from harassment. Employment Rights Bill – A Shake Up for the Living Sector The Employment Rights Bill (“ERB”) is poised to introduce significant change to the UK’s workforce ...
SyCipLaw has shared its insights in Conventus Law's Special Report on "Navigating Business Ventures in the Philippines: Your Questions Answered." The special report, authored by Senior Partner and Corporate Services Department Head Imelda A. Manguiat and Associate Leo Francis F ...
