“If climate change is a shark, then water is its teeth”. This quote from James P. Bruce, a Canadian hydrogeologist, has never seemed more relevant to the South African context than today in light of recent extreme flooding and drought events. A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapour and when that water is released it can have devastating effects, as parts of Kwa-Zulu Natal experienced in 2022 ...
On May 2, 2023, by means of Resolution 410 ("Res. 410/2023") the Ministry of the Environment ("MMA") issued a request for information to the producers of priority products, within the framework of Law No. 20,920 ("EPR Law"). The information requested by Res. Ex ...
By: Neusha Etemad and Anne Marie Ellis CDA Background Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) was enacted in 1996 to provide websites with immunity from liability arising from posting third-party content. For a service provider to be immune, however, the information at issue must be “provided by another information content provider ...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended the deadline for applications for amnesty for late and non-filing of annual financial statements (AFS), general information sheets (GIS), as well as non-compliance with SEC Memorandum Circular No. 28, series of 2020 (Requirement for Corporations, Partnerships, Associations, and Individuals to Create and/or Designate E-mail Account Address and Cellphone Number for Transactions with the Commission) (MC28) ...
The SEC Division of Examinations (“Examinations”) issued a Risk Alert on April 26, 2023 to highlight the importance of establishing written policies and procedures for safeguarding customer records and information at branch offices. Examinations provides that a branch office includes any location other than a firm’s main office, including offices of any independent contractors through which a firm may offer investment products and services ...
The new framework for assessing non-domestic property rateable values has been set out under the draft Non-Domestic Rating Bill, introduced to Parliament on 23 March 2023 – but only likely to take effect on or after 1 April 2024. As business rates policy is fully devolved, not all of these measures will apply in Wales. The more regular revaluations should keep rateable values closer to market reality ...
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 ...
The European Commission has confirmed that it has started dawn raids at the premises of companies operating in the fashion industry in several Member States. Officers from national competition authorities accompanied Commission officials at these inspections. The Commission has also sent out formal requests for information to such companies ...
Report of the Department of Environmental Law and Climate Change The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment A/HRC/52/L.7 (un.org) The Human Rights Council of the United Nations General Assembly, at its 52nd session held between February 27 and April 4, 2023, through this document, urged States to: to ...
On April 18, 2023, the Financial Market Commission ("FMC") opened a public consultation process regarding the complementary activities that may be developed by bank or non-bank payment card operators ("Regulatory Proposal"), given the incorporation of new participants into the payments system, as a consequence of the implementation of the four-party model ...
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 ...
Introduction An EU Regulation on the making available on the Union market as well as export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation (“Deforestation Regulation”) was agreed upon by the EU legislators in December 2022. The European Parliament has now green-lighted the Provisional Agreement at this month’s plenary session ...
The rules of state aid work for the implementation of public-private partnership projects and require the state, as a partner, to comply with the conditions of the transfer of budgetary resources to private partners, in order to avoid a ban on the conclusion of state contracts due to the incompatibility of state aid with economic competition. The Ministry of Economy proposed a plan to restore Ukraine with a price tag of $750 billion of budget funds ...
Brandon Bundren and over 100 lawyers from around the country who practice extensively in the area of trade secrets and restrictive covenants co-signed a written submission to the Federal Trade Commission regarding its recent noncompete ban ...
The month of March 2023 has brought with it a new legislative Act to amend the Financial Markets Act (Chapter 345 of the Laws of Malta) and to provide for other matters ancillary or consequential thereto in the form of Act No. IX of 2023. This Act was passed by the House of Representatives on the 8th of March and assented to by the President on the 14th of March ...
The Chilean Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) has recently announced the possibility to apply to a program for fast-tracking patent’s and utility model’s applications, provided that said applications relate to technical solutions capable of impacting the environment positively ...
“I’ve been involved in ESG and sustainability for over 20 years and in the last few years the focus has increased significantly,” says Rich Hall, Head of Sustainability at leading accountancy and professional services firm RSM, on the shift in perception of ESG-related risk within corporate organisations. “Even before the pandemic, we were beginning to see more commentary on ESG issues, mainly centred around the environmental side ...
Shoosmiths has launched ESG 360, a free online compliance audit tool to enable organisations to understand their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. ESG 360 users receive a personalised report providing red, amber or green ratings in relation to various elements of ESG compliance performance, alongside commentary and suggestions for improvement. Built around an online questionnaire, ESG 360 allows users to assess their general ESG performance or focus on specific aspects ...
On the 2nd of February 2023, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (hereinafter referred to as “EIOPA”) published a Supervisory Statement on the use of governance arrangements in third countries to perform functions or activities (hereinafter referred to as the “Statement”) ...
Simonsen Vogt Wiig is ranked a top tier firm in the following categories: Dispute resolution EU and competition Fishing and aquaculture Insolvency and corporate recovery Maritime law Offshore construction and shipbuilding Energy: Oil and gas TMT We have more than 50 lawyers acknowledged in this year’s guide, and want to highlight the following new rankings: Espen Tøndel: Hall of Fame – TMT Thomas Talén: Leading Individuals – Employment Espen Ba
At a time when some are demanding that artificial intelligence (AI) research and advanced systems development be temporarily suspended and others want to close Pandora?s box, it is appropriate to ask what effect chat technology (ChatGPT, Bard and others) will have on businesses and workplaces. Some companies support its use, others prohibit it, but many have yet to take a stand. We believe that all companies should adopt a clear position and guide their employees in the use of such technology ...
