The progression of online financial ecosystems supporting any modern economy hinges on the citizens’ use of new financial technologies. In Malta, the word ‘fintech’ is neither defined by law nor found in the jurisdiction’s primary legislation. Yet, local stakeholders on the island commonly limit the meaning of the word to blockchain-based finance ...
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is a UK independent agency established by legislation that ‘must seek to promote competition…for the benefit of consumers’. To do so the CMA may carry out research. The CMA announced on 4 May 2023 it is opening an initial review of competition and consumer protection considerations in the development and use of AI foundation models ...
Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) are increasing in popularity with many entrepreneurs and business owners now looking at this alternative structure of exit. EOTs were introduced through the Finance Act of 2014 to encourage founders and other shareholders to pass ownership of their company on for the benefit of its employees. The John Lewis Partnership, a long-established brand, is well recognised for employee engagement, however EOTs were relatively slow to take off in the UK ...
We highlight the most significant employment law cases since January 2023 and the lessons that employers should take from them. Without prejudice correspondence It is common for employers to use ‘without prejudice’ correspondence when negotiating with an employee on the termination of their employment ...
The UK government has proposed legislation (the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill) that would materially affect merger control for transactions of both UK and non-UK companies. This comment addresses the proposed introduction of a mandatory reporting regime as a prior step to the current merger control regime in the UK ...
The UK government has proposed legislation (Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament) that would materially affect merger control for transactions. This comment addresses the proposed changes that would be of concern to those engaged in mergers affecting local markets ...
On April 26th, 2022, the Senate unanimously approved in particular (first constitutional procedure) the Bill that establishes a Framework Law on Cybersecurity and Critical Information Infrastructure. As a result, the legislative proposal passed to the second constitutional procedure waiting to be discussed by the Chamber of Deputies ...
On March 11, 2023, the West Virginia State Legislature enacted the Student Journalist Press Freedom Protection Act (the “Act”), Senate Bill 121. The Act requires “public high schools, colleges, and universities [to] allow for the free expression of student journalists in school sponsored media ...
Prejudgment interest may not come to mind when drafting a settlement agreement. But it can become a crucial issue if one settling party later sues another for misrepresentation related to the agreement and the parties disagree over which state’s prejudgment interest rules apply. States vary widely in the amount of prejudgment interest available. In some cases—as in Conway v. Planet Fitness Holdings, LLC, 101 Mass. App. Ct ...
On April 24, 2023, the Chamber of Representatives received bulletin No. 15864-13, containing the bill that proposes the adjustment of the minimum monthly income (i.e. minimum salary), which immediately passed to the Labor and Social Security and the Finance Committees of said Chamber. Currently, the bill of law has an urgency status for immediate discussion ...
Rodney Keister was challenging the University of Alabama’s grounds use policy, which requires individuals to obtain a permit before speaking publicly on campus. In his arguments, Keister asserted that the space he was using to preach and distribute religious literature is a “traditional public forum” protected by the First Amendment ...
We are pleased to announce that Emi Rowse (Igusa), partner and head of Japan Practice at Kudun and Partners, has been officially enlisted in the Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC) Panel of Arbitrators! THAC has granted Emi the THAC Empanelment Certificate, recognizing her extensive experience and expertise in the field of arbitration. At Kudun and Partners, we are committed to providing our clients with the highest quality legal services, including effective and efficient dispute resolution ...
The right to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union official at disciplinary and grievance hearings is likely to be a familiar concept to employers. Here we discuss the nuances of that right and what could happen if there is a breach. What are the worker’s rights? The statutory right to be accompanied is set out in the Employment Relations Act 1999. The right is not limited to employees and applies irrespective of length of service ...
Last month we saw Endometriosis Awareness Month come and go and with it, the question of whether endometriosis is fully recognised in the workplace yet. Last year, in February 2022, support for individuals who suffer from endometriosis was debated in the House of Commons. The key takeaway was that endometriosis affects so many women, yet is still largely unrecognised within the workplace ...
It has long been recommended that when you contract with a technology vendor that you include an indemnity clause in the contract wherein the vendor will indemnify you if its product is compromised and results in a data breach of your computer network. This recommendation was recently validated by both cyber authorities in the U.S. and in the U.K., Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands ...
It is imperative that a company knows what data it holds, why it is holding it, where it holds it, and who has access to it. The old adage that information is power leads many to believe that holding on to as much data as possible is a smart institutional practice because you never know when you may need it. However, the opposite is true. The more data a company holds, especially data that it has no use for, the more at risk it is for a future data breach ...
Private companies doing business with the federal government won a major COVID-19-related victory recently when the Sixth Circuit held in Ciraci v. J.M. Smucker’s Co.[1] that government contractors are not subject to constitutional limitations merely because they follow federal requirements for contracting. The Sixth Circuit—covering Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee—rejected a claim by former employees of the J.M ...
On the 30th of March 2023, as part of its efforts to address the gender pay gap phenomenon and promote the equal pay principle, the European Parliament widely approved the EU Pay Transparency Directive. In 2021, the gender pay gap stood at 12.7% in the EU, with no minimal changes in the last ten years ...
On April 18, 2023, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems a staggering $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit. Particularly startling about the settlement is that Dominion was valued at around $51 million as recently as 2018, meaning that the settlement resulted in a payout up to fifteen times Dominion’s value. Dominion filed the lawsuit in response to publicly broadcast statements by Fox News and its guests after the 2020 election ...
The European Parliament gave its final approval to the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (‘MiCA’) on 20 April 2023. The regulation forms part of the EU’s broader digital financial package whose aim is to encourage the use of fintech while ensuring consumer protection and financial stability across the EU. MiCA is the first harmonised EU framework for regulating crypto-assets and is applicable across Member States without national transposition ...
