1 When Do We Need a Building Permit?As a rule, the construction of or any structural alterations to any building situated on theRomanian territory requires a building permit. Few are the contexts where this rule is notapplicable. These situations usually refer to the repairing and maintenance works to the existingbuildings, which do not involve changes in the initial features of the buildings ...
The “Chiasson”(4) appeal is making headlines as it has the potential to force corporations to review and perhaps re-write their drug-testing policies and procedures.Chiasson dealt with pre-employment drug testing. The Complainant had applied for and was offered a job as a receiving inspector at an oil sands project in Fort McMurray, Alberta. The offer of employment was subject to the results of a pre-employment medical and drug screening test ...
Human Resources and Skills Development/Service Canada (“HRSDC”) recently implemented Regional Occupations Lists (the “Lists”). The Lists are meant to “assist employers who are experiencing difficulty filling job vacancies due to labour market shortages ...
Cory Grams died while at work at a Maple Leaf Metal Industries Ltd. (“Maple Leaf”) plant in Edmonton, Alberta. His parents, as beneficiaries and administrators of his estate, claimed damages against Maple Leaf for $92,000 for negligence in failing to provide insurance coverage under an employment contract. A claim against the insurer, Zurich, was settled prior to trial. Mr ...
Effective December 12, 2006, mandatory retirement will no longer be generally permissible in Ontario, (as a result of amendments to the Ontario Human Rights Code). Employers will, however, still be allowed to enforce mandatory retirement polices if they can show that being younger than 65 (or another designated age) is a bona fide occupational requirement ...
Pursuant to the so-called Four Years Act, owners may unilaterally increase the rent for certain apartments during the period of 2007 to 2010 for once a year up to the target value. The calculation method is set forth by law and the target value will be announced by the Ministry for Local Development in the Collection of Laws. The written announcement of the increase must be duly justified. The lessee may file an action in respect of invalidating the increase ...
As concerns the contents of the Act, we can say primarily that certain proven principle and institutes reappeared known from original Act No. 199/1994, Coll., on Public Procurement which Act No. 40/2004, Coll ...
The new LC is based on a different legal conception than the existing LC. Whereas the still valid LC is a mandatory legal regulation with no exceptions, the new code allows that the rights or obligations in labour-law relations are regulated differently than in the Labour Code, unless the code expressly prohibits or unless it results from the nature of the relevant provisions that it is impossible to deviate from such provisions ...
The Sappier Decision: Supreme Court of Canada Recognizes Aboriginal Right to Timber for Domestic Purposes and Clarifies Requirements for Establishing an Aboriginal RightOn December 7, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision in the cases of Gray v. R and R. v. Sappier and Polchies ...
The right to privacy occupies a prominent place in Quebec law. Both the Charter of human rights and freedoms(1) and the Civil Code of Québec(2) recognize this right. Moreover, it is acknowledged that deliberate interception of a private communication may infringe this right. Does this mean that any form of electronic recording in a work environment is prohibited? Absolutely not ...
The new provisions pertaining to psychological harassment that were added to the Act respecting labour standards(1) (hereinafter referred to as the “ARLS”) on June 1, 2004, have given rise to many arbitration awards and interpretations over the last two years that have expounded on the concept of psychological harassment ...
In our Spring 2005 newsletter we reported on the Keays v. Honda Canada Inc.(1) decision in which the Ontario Superior Court of Justice awarded a dismissed employee $500,000 in punitive damages in addition to 24 months salary in lieu of notice (15 months’ reasonable notice plus nine months’ additional “Wallace” damages for “bad faith” dismissal) ...
During the past decade, project financing structures have been actively used in Colombia in connection with the construction and improvement of infrastructure facilities and the expansion of access to basic public services. In particular, private investment has been active in concessions, the privatization and capitalization of public entities, BOT, BOO and BOLT schemes and other financing techniques ...
The legal systems of the nations that comprise the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- have undergone dramatic, radical and progressive change and development in the past 25 years, which is continuing ...
An employment permit system has recently been implemented for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau personnel rendering services in Mainland China.The Administrative Regulations on the Employment of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau Residents in Mainland China (“Employment Regulations”) were issued by the PRC Ministry of Labour and Social Security on 14 June 2005 and took effect on 1 October 2005 ...
On 4 December 2006 the Disability Equality Duty will come into force. It will join the broadly similar Race Equality Duty, which has existed under the race relations legislation since 2001. Meanwhile, an analogous Gender Equality Duty is due to come into force in April 2007.The intention behind the creation of these new duties is to ensure that bodies which exercise public functions “mainstream” equality issues when exercising those functions ...
On 11 July 2006, six Chinese ministries (Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Commerce, National Development and Reform Commission, The People’s Bank of China, State Administration for Industry and Commerce and State Administration of Foreign Exchange) jointly issued a circular “Opinions on Regulating the Entry into and the Administration of Foreign Investment in the Real Estate Market” Jianzhufang [2006] Circular No ...
Bolivia has just culminated the step that will have the greatest impact in the process of creating a new constitution for Bolivia. On Sunday July 2, Bolivia elected the constituents to the assembly that will be in charge with providing structure and substance to the new constitutional norm ...
The removal of the Crown’s immunity from English planning law will make buying and developing such land much easier, says Shoosmiths’ planning law team. Crown Immunity dated back to the 1960s and included government departments such as the MOD, Her Majesty’s private estates, the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall and the Crown Estate Commissioners. In the past the Crown had only to consult with local planning authorities before carrying out development ...
The revelations of the intercepted phone messages from Prince Harry and Prince William earlier this year are a reminder of how vulnerable personal data can be. Proposed changes to the law will mean that those who hold confidential personal information must be even more vigilant about what they do with that data. Most businesses will be familiar with the Data Protection legislation but it is important not to be complacent ...
In the workplace, youth is seen as a valuable asset. When the benefits of youth are emphasised in relation to personnel and staffing issues to the exclusion of other factors, employers may well find themselves discriminating on the basis of age. Employers may also be depriving themselves of the many benefits of an age-diverse workforce – higher retention rates; lower rates of absenteeism; greater flexibility; and a wider pool of available skills. This has a major economic impact ...
For many years, parties have created various legal tools to grant others the right to use a portion of their lands. Prior to the imposition of statutory controls on the subdivision and leasing of land, this could simply be accomplished by the property owner granting exclusive possession over a portion of their land to a tenant by way of a lease and everyone was happy. Everyone that is but the local and provincial governments ...
According to the independent charity, The Age and Employment Network, the cost of age discrimination in the UK now amounts to £5.5bn in lost government tax and paid unemployment benefits and a further £30bn in lost productivity annually. These are astounding figures. It seems that many employees are currently obliged or persuaded to leave the workplace before their normal retirement age and that early exit from work for people aged over 50 tends to be permanent ...
