On 26 October 2018, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress approved a decision to revise the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China (Revision), with the aim of supplementing and improving the existing share repurchase regime. We have set out a brief introduction to this Revision below. Background It has only been five years since the last revision to the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China (Company Law) ...
Inland ports are of significant importance for handling of freight. Most inland ports are trimodal (road, railways and waterways) and have the necessary infrastructure to handle freight coming from all over the world. Recent State aid measures address the increasing importance of inland ports and allow subsidisation predominantly for constructing infrastructure ...
These days more and more use is being made of the Treaty rules on State aid. The European Commission is using the State aid rules in an innovative way to take over competence from the Member States in tax regulation by challenging the selectivity of national measures or rulings, which give preferable treatment to certain taxpayers ...
In December of 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released their much-anticipated draft proposed rule to re-write the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) (“2018 Rule”). The definition of WOTUS establishes the scope of agency jurisdiction over waters and wetlands under the Clean Water Act (CWA) ...
The Brazilian Federal Government recently published Medida Provisória No. 863/2018 ("MP 863/18"), a new rule that amends Federal Law No. 7,565, of December 19, 1986 (Brazilian Aviation Code) and lifts the existing restrictions to foreign capital shareholding in Brazilian air transportation companies. As a result, foreign investors are from now on able to hold up to one hundred percent (100%) of the voting capital of Brazilian airlines ...
Call-off stock or consignment stock is specifically regulated, changes are introduced into chain sales, and requirements are laid down for applying the exemption to intra-Community supplies of goods ...
In December of 2018, EU Court of Justice Advocate General Campos Sánchez-Bordona concluded that the United Kingdom may unilaterally withdraw its intention to leave the European Union before 29 March 2019 and therefore remain in the EU. This is so long as the revocation notice is made before the formal conclusion of a withdrawal agreement and it respects the UK’s constitutional requirements ...
The Supreme Court has handed down one of the most anticipated Endangered Species Act (ESA) rulings in recent years. In Weyerhaeuser Co. v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., the Supreme Court unanimously overruled the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, holding that the Fish and Wildlife Service can only designate property that is “habitat” as critical habitat under the ESA ...
On Nov. 19, 2018, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking[1] requesting public comment on criteria for identifying emerging technologies essential to U.S. national security that would be subject to increased export controls ...
News of a new federal law on foreign direct investment in the UAE has many people asking: “Does this mean I can now form a new company with majority foreign ownership?” The answer is the same as previously, “No, not yet”. Companies incorporated in the UAE require a minimum of 51 percent UAE ownership. As an exception to this rule, 100 percent foreign ownership is permitted in free zones. The new law may lead to further exceptions in the future ...
From ground-breaking discoveries such as penicillin and insulin, to the development of the MRI body scanner and the creation of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell ...
The oil and gas sector has seen significant changes over the past few years, led by a significant reduction in global oil prices. This has increased the focus on operational efficiency and more flexible ways of working collaboratively to alleviate the effects of protracted price deflation ...
The Scottish financial sector has always punched above its weight due, in large part, to its appetite for innovation and sharp business acumen, which it has successfully exported around the globe. The successful early establishment in Scotland of current account banking and the investment trust speak to this, along with the undisputed influence of the Scottish diaspora, which established many of the great financial institutions from Paris to Hong Kong ...
With the development of information and communication technologies, teleworking is a good solution to solve many problems encountered by employees and employers, as well as to solve more global issues: pollution, global warming, stress, traffic jam, car crashes, balance between private and working life, workspace, parking, etc ...
The High Court judgment in Friends of the Irish Environment v. An Bord Pleanála (delivered in 2018 by Meenan J) decided that if a Section 5 referral is made by a third party, then the owners and occupiers of the lands must be identified and served with notice of the referral, and given an opportunity to make submissions in accordance with basic fair procedures ...
In Scots law, it is possible to acquire certain rights to land – access, for instance – simply by the passage of time. This process is known as “prescription” and is outlined in the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. There are two forms of prescription: positive and negative. Negative prescription extinguishes certain rights after a period of time ...
The UKCS is the largest decommissioning market in the North Sea. There are around 475 fixed facilities, over 10,000 kilometres of pipeline and approximately 5,000 wells. These will all need to be decommissioned over the next 30 years, when they reach the end of their economic life, at an estimated cost of £59.7 billion ...
Africa tax in brief DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Amendment of Mining Regulation published Decree No. 18/024, amending the Mining Regulation, was published in the Official Gazette on 12 June 2018 ...
Feeling the heat: the draft Climate Change Bill, 2018 Earlier this year, the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs (the “Minister”) published the draft Climate Change Bill, 2018 for public comment. Since then, the Department of Environmental Affairs (“DEA”) has undertaken a road show across the country to solicit comments to the Bill and held further bilateral meetings with stakeholders earlier this year ...
On 1 January 2020, the maximum allowable sulfur content of marine fuels will be drastically reduced from the current 3.50% to 0.5% m/m. 2020 is rapidly approaching, but is the shipping industry really prepared? In this article, we provide an overview of the regulations and the main alternatives for compliance that shipowners and operators are faced with. Introduction On 1 January 2020, the maximum allowable sulfur content of marine fuels will be drastically reduced from the current 3.50% to 0 ...
Not-for-profit Reforesting Scotland’s "Thousand Huts" campaign has spearheaded the regrowth of the hutting community, previously almost entirely eradicated by increasingly strict building regulations. The new Building (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 sets out the framework for ecologically sustainable hut development. What is a Hut? A hut must be a single storey building used as recreational accommodation ...
The California Court of Appeal recently upheld a lower court decision that, as we previously discussed, expanded the scope of the "public trust doctrine" to include groundwater. In Environmental Law Foundation v. State Water Resources Control Board, the appellate court held that agencies permitting groundwater pumping must consider how pumping may harm "public trust interests ...
