Take-up of electric vehicles has been a rare success story for the UK government’s vision of achieving a net zero economy by 2030. The government reports that in 2022, one in six new vehicles sold in UK was a plug-in electric vehicle (EV). But dreams of an exhaust-free utopia have suffered a recent reality check ...
Dr Nicholas Valenzia, head of the Shipping and Aviation Practice Area at the firm, was invited to speak at the National Aviation Conference which was organised by the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects on the 18th of January 2023 at the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana. Dr Valenzia discussed the aircraft financing and leasing market in Malta and the challenges to enhancing sectorial capacity and improving socio-economic benefits ...
By choice or regulation, the future of the maritime industry bends toward decarbonization. The industry contributes (by one estimate) almost 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions and depends on one of the dirtiest energy sources, bunker fuel. But cleaner alternatives are on the horizon for everyone. Companies that commit to decarbonization early have an opportunity to drive change instead of reacting to it ...
Many government agencies set goals for their construction projects to be awarded to disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE). The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) DBE certification program sets antidiscrimination regulations that states can implement for federal funding. The Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID) is the certifying authority of DBEs (on behalf of the DOT) in Oregon ...
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel recently released an advisory opinion[i] regarding Section 1461 of title 18 of the U.S. Code. In it, they write the “Comstock Act”[ii] does not prohibit the mailing of certain medications used to perform abortions where the sender does not believe the medications will be used unlawfully. This opinion comes in the wake of the U.S ...
The automotive industry is undergoing a rapid transformation, and the changes over the next 12 months are likely to be significant. As the industry moves towards a more sustainable and “green” future, the way we use and interact with cars is likely to change dramatically alongside. This is partly driven by the continued rise of electric vehicles (EV), with EV’s securing a 15.1 per cent share of the UK's new car market as of December 2022 ...
The task of upgrading and developing the UK’s electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to cope with current and future demand is no mean feat. The UK Government has committed to ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 ...
Dr Ingrid Fenech participated in the Society Education Annual Conference on Aspects of Maltese Company Law held on 29th November, where she delved into the recent amendments to the Companies Act introducing the notion of cell companies carrying on or engaged in shipping or aviation business ...
Last year a new landmark report was launched by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), aimed at changing the diversity of the people building the critical national infrastructure - as they have not always reflected the diversity of the people and communities who will ultimately use it ...
On 17 November 2022, the State Administration Council (“SAC”) enacted the Law Amending the 2022 Union Tax Law (“2022 UTL Amendment”). This law provides tax exemptions for Battery Electric Vehicles (“BEVs”) and increases the corporate income tax rate of companies engaged in the oil and gas exploration and production sector in Myanmar. We highlight below the major changes under this law: 1 ...
Following the 2018 enactment of regulations governing contractual terms contained in vehicle hire-purchase agreements, the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (“OCPB”) has recently resolved to adjust such regulatory scheme as part of their initiatives to alleviate the ongoing economic downturn and financial hardships suffered by consumers as a result of the pandemic, and to prevent consumers being subject to any unfair contractual terms in this respect ...
While originally opened to great fanfare between 2017 and 2019, over the course of 2022 Shell has discreetly closed down all of its UK hydrogen filling stations, citing that "the prototype technology had reached the end of its life". This decision is perhaps not surprising, given the low volume of domestic fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) on UK roads ...
Shoosmiths’ head of energy and infrastructure (E&I) sector, James Wood-Robertson, details and reacts to the much-anticipated E&I developments and proposals set out in the UK government’s 2022 Autumn Statement ...
With the government’s widely publicised plan to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK by the end of the decade comes a secondary issue – the need for an extensive electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to support an exponential increase in the number of EV cars on the road. Rollout of EV chargepoints is significantly behind what is needed to meet the predicted demand from 2030 ...
That’s the question Shoosmiths and Cornwall Insight’s recent report sought to answer, investigating the role the Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model could play as part of the UK’s electric vehicle charging network. In a new video, Jonathan Smart, partner and head of mobility at Shoosmiths, discusses the BaaS model, which enables electric vehicle owners and business fleets to swap out depleted batteries for fully charged ones at a service station via a subscription service ...
As we discussed in a prior update, on July 13, 2022, Plaintiff Christian Buckner filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court in Tampa, Florida, seeking to enjoin the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s set-aside of 10% (around $37 billion) of transportation funding for “small business concerns” owned and controlled by “socially and economically disadvantaged individuals ...
In an effort to counteract the economic damage wrought by the COVID-19 Pandemic, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November of 2021. Part of that bill set aside $370 billion to improve and expand transportation, and further earmarked 10% of those funds for socially and economically disadvantaged government contractors ...
1. Introduction After a long consultation period, the European Commission recently published the new Block Exemption Regulation for Vertical Agreements (Regulation (EU) 2022/720 "VBER"). The regulation will enter into force on 1 June 2022. New Guidelines on vertical restraints ("Guidelines") will accompany the new VBER. Both replace the previous set of rules from 2010 ...
Dear valued clients, colleagues and friends, In November 2020, Korean Air Lines Co Ltd had entered into a share subscription agreement with Asiana Airlines Inc which had been in a situation of financial distress. The merger of the two airlines required regulatory approval from competition and antitrust agencies of other jurisdictions, which included but were not limited to, Korea, UK, US, EU, Malaysia and Singapore ...
The Belgian Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) has fined Brussels Airport and Brussels South Charleroi Airport 200,000 and 100,000 EUR respectively for their use of thermal cameras during the Covid-19 pandemic. In two extensive decisions (Brussels decisionandCharleroi decision), the DPA has fined the two airports for their use ofthermal cameras ...
The pandemic has not slowed down the arrival of self-driving vehicles on our roads. This technological advancement is becoming more and more commonplace, giving rise to a need for deep reflection, especially in the automobile insurance industry ...
Myanmar will this month re-open for international flight arrivals after a two-year ban and will restart online visa applications, citing a significant decrease in COVID-19 infections across the country. The decision to resume foreign flights was made in line with the latest COVID-19 restrictions issued by the Ministry of Health under the State Administration Council (“SAC”) and was announced as a measure to support the Myanmar economy ...
By Glenn Kangisser Shu Shu Wong March 11, 2022 Earlier this month, the English Commercial Court upheld an appeal from an arbitration in MUR Shipping BV v RTI Ltd [2022] EWHC 467 (Comm) that a “reasonable endeavours” requirement in a force majeure clause, invoked due to the impact of US sanctions on Russia, did not require the party claiming force majeure to accept non-contractual performance ...
On 12 August 2020 a tragedy occurred on Scotland’s railways. A passenger train, already turned around due to blockages on the line, derailed. Three people tragically lost their lives. After months of investigation the Rail Accident Investigation Board (“RAIB”) has released its formal report into the incident. The report details a number of failings, which led to the tragedy ...
