The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause unprecedented disruption in Asia with lockdowns currently in place in Bangladesh and the Lao PDR Meanwhile, various restrictions continue to affect Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam resulting in continued economic uncertainty and delays in re-opening borders for travel and business purposes ...
The South African President has signed the Cybercrimes Bill into law, which means it is now an Act of Parliament. The date on which the Cybercrimes Act, 2020 comes into force is yet to be announced, but there are a few key things to note: The majority of the offences created by the Cybercrimes Act relate to data, messages, computers, and networks involving hacking, the unlawful interception of data, ransomware attacks, cyber forgery and uttering, and cyber extortion ...
On 1 June 2021, the Competition Commission released a media statement indicating that it had, on public interest grounds, prohibited a proposed transaction whereby a private equity firm, ECP Africa, intended to acquire Burger King (South Africa) and Grand Foods Meat Plant from Grand Parade Investments ...
When the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”) comes into effect fully from 1 July 2021, there are some areas of possible dispute that could arise between employers and employees, including the monitoring of employee emails. In a recent Constitutional Court judgment in Turkey, the personal data protection rights of an employee were considered, and could provide some guidance as to how a similar situation may be handled in a South African context ...
When parents separate one question that is often asked is how long will I or my ex have to pay child maintenance for. Child maintenance Child maintenance is a regular, usually monthly payment, made by the parent with whom the children do not live (commonly known as the non-resident parent (NRP)) to the other parent (commonly known as parent with care (PWC)) ...
New SCCs are hot off the (virtual) press. Now's the time to plan, implement the changes in them and, most importantly of course, keep your data flowing. Who hasn’t during a power cut, out of habit, entered a room and tried to flick on the lights? There’s a tiny delay before you remember there’s no power and you reprimand yourself for being so foolish. Too often, we only notice the electricity that powers our lives when it’s not there ...
A question that has been posed by separated parents over the last year has been whether they will need to pay maintenance for their children for longer due to the unexpected gap year. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 there was an increase in students deferring their places at university due to start in the autumn of 2020. The number of deferrals was increased from 5.6% in 2019 to 6.3% in 2020 ...
On 21 May 2021, Hong Kong’s Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) issued its consultation conclusions (Conclusions) on the proposed licensing regime for virtual asset services providers (VASPs). The Conclusions follow publication of the FSTB’s consultation paper of 3 November 2020 (Proposal). For details of the Proposal, please refer to our article of 24 November 2020 ...
New Cybercrime Law is enacted by the Brazilian President and provides for a considerable increase in penalties for hacking into computer devices, theft and embezzlement perpetrated electronically or through the Internet. In addition to providing more severe penalties for cybercrimes, Law No. 14,155 of May 28, 2021 establishes the victim's place of residence as the competent jurisdiction to prosecute cybercrime ...
Since the European Court of Justice declared the EU-US Privacy Shield as an invalid legal basis for the transfer of personal data to the US, stipulating increased requirements for the use of the EU standard contractual clauses in July 2020 (C-311/18, 'Schrems II'), uncertainty has been rife within many companies: a legally compliant data transfer to the USA on the basis of the Privacy Shield is no longer possible and the new EU standard contractual clauses announced in November 202
In May 2021, the total value of cryptocurrency globally surpassed USD $2.5 trillion, and continues its emergence as a new asset class.[1] Governments in Canada and around the world are updating regulatory requirements in response to the new innovations in financial technologies. Historically, there has been regulatory uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrencies in Canada ...
POLITICAL AGREEMENT WITH THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON THE PROPOSED DIRECTIVE ON THE DISCLOSURE OF INCOME TAX INFORMATION BY CERTAIN UNDERTAKINGS AND BRANCHES _____________________________________ On 1 June 2021, the Council of the European Union (the “Council”) reached a political agreement with the European Parliament on the proposed directive on the disclosure of income tax information by certain undertakings and branches, commonly referred to as the public country-by-count
According to the Russian Government Order, dated 18th May 2021, the list of foreign citizens, who may enter Russia, has been expanded (the 'Order'). The text of the Order is available in Russian here. From 19th May 2021, the following persons are allowed to enter Russia: owners or heads of companies operating in Russia; foreign citizens entering to participate in negotiations on investment projects’ implementation ...
On May 11, 2021, the Cabinet resolved that the proposed amendments of the Public Limited Companies Act, B.E. 2535 (1992) (the “PLCA”) be made, mainly due to technological advancements that allow certain corporate administrative procedures to now be conducted by electronic means. For ease of reference, the table below highlights the proposed amendments against the existing corresponding provisions under the PLCA. No. Topic Current Provision Proposed Amendment 1 ...
On May 28, 2021, Exempt Resolution No. 310, dated April 16, 2021 of the Ministry of the Environment was published in the Official Gazette. By means of such resolution, the Ministry of the Environment initiates the process of drafting the Supreme Decree that will set forth collection and recovery goals and other related obligations for batteries and electrical and electronic devices. Regulated priority products: "Batteries" and "Electrical and Electronic devices" ...
On 21 April 2021, the European Commission (EC) published a proposal (Proposed Regulations) which is described as the “first-ever legal framework on [Artificial Intelligence]”, aiming to turn Europe into the global hub for trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Proposed Regulations are of general interest because they constitute a first attempt to “regulate” AI properly and, if implemented, may become influential worldwide ...
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. v. International Trade Commission, Appeal Nos. 2020-1475, -1605 (Fed. Cir. May 28, 2021) In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit considered an appeal from the International Trade Commission affirming an Administrative Law Judge’s finding that 10X’s products violated the Tariff Act by infringing multiple patents and that they did not infringe another ...
On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released updated and expanded guidance on the COVID-19 pandemic’s interactions with federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws. The majority of the new guidance is directed at inquiries regarding vaccination status, vaccine incentives, and accommodations ...
With the continuation of the Prime Minister’s orders on measures for COVID-19 prevention and control until 4 June 2021, we have pulled together a guide on some of the current Government initiatives and support available to businesses in the Lao PDR. In our guide, we provide details on: Banking & Finance: The latest credit policies and guidelines for commercial banks and financial institutions ...
Electronic registration The Norwegian Maritime Authority («NMA«) has developed a new system for electronic ship registration and has proposed certain amendments to the Norwegian Maritime Code and appurtenant regulations. The amendments are currently circulated in a memo subject to public hearing ...
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recently discussed possible approaches to establishing an interoperating central bank digital currencies (CBDC) arrangement as the future of cross-border payments. Although not an “official” definition, CBDC generally refers to a new form of digital currency issued by a central bank, denominated in an existing unit of account operating as a store of value and a medium of exchange ...
Tech London Advocates (TLA) Scale Up Group hosted a virtual event with expert speakers, UK Tech on the World Stage, as a partner event for Scaleup Week: The Business Plan held on 18-20 May 2021. A panel of international tech leaders shared insights and opinions regarding UK technology on the world stage, exploring the growth of UK digital businesses and what it takes for them to expand into overseas markets ...
On May 19, 2021, Superintendent Resolution Nº 045-2021-SMV/02 was published, apdopting the Regulation of the Financial Participative Financing Activity and its Management Companies (the “Regulation“), which clarifies the provisions of Emergency Decree Nº 013-2020 – Emergency Decree that Promotes the Financing of MSMEs, Entrepreneurships and Startups ...
