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 March 28, the Minister of Labour introduced Bill 19, an Act respecting the regulation of work by children (the ?Bill?), which establishes in particular a minimum working age of 14 and a maximum number of hours of work for children subject to compulsory school attendance. This Bill is presented in the wake of massive and noticeable entry of young workers into the market in the context of shortage of unskilled workers exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic ...
In early March, Georgia's Access to Medical Cannabis Commission finally adopted rules governing the state's low-THC oil industry. As businesses navigate this new landscape, legal questions will inevitably pop up. And lawyers, being trained to answer them, will want to address their clients' questions. But a ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court means that Georgia lawyers generally cannot ethically advise participants in this new program ...
We are pleased to issue our fourth edition of the Regulatory Compliance Quarterly Updates. These updates are intended to keep Maltese regulated entities informed of regulatory changes and developments taking place in the local financial services space. In this issue, we focus on the sector specific and cross-sectoral regulatory updates relating to Investment Services and Asset Management, Company Service Providers, Insurance Undertakings, and Insurance Intermediaries ...
Contents Please click on the links below to jump to the relevant section: Overview FAQ 1: Are SPV trustees in scope? FAQ 2: What about SPVs that aren’t trustees? Do you need to have a “customer” or “third party” to be in scope? FAQ 3: I do have “customers” or “third parties” ...
Notification 005/23 was issued by the Accounting and Auditing Regulator (ACAR) on the 11th of April 2023 concerning the Extension to Submit Annual Financial Statements for the 2022 financial year for Enterprises and Non-Profit Organizations that are not subject to independent financial audits ...
On March 31, 2023, Governor Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 47 making medical marijuana use and sale legal in Kentucky, effective January 1, 2025. [i] Kentucky now joins at least 37 other states that have legalized medical marijuana. The newest piece of legislation comes on the heels of Governor Beshear signing two executive orders related to cannabis in November of 2022 ...
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”) ...
Americans have increasingly accepted meat and dairy alternatives as staples in their daily diets. For example, recent market research shows that two out of every five U.S. consumers plan to purchase plant-based meat products in 2023. The prevalence of these forms of alternative protein has set the stage for a semantic — and potentially paradigm-shifting — dispute over the very meaning of the terms "meat," "milk" and "dairy ...
Back in March 2022, a furore erupted over the mass redundancies by P&O Ferries of its workers and their replacement with an international crew on much lower wages. Amidst all the calls for changes to prevent ‘fire and rehire’ tactics, the only relevant change to employment legislation to have made it onto the statute book so far is The Seafarers' Wages Act 2023 (SWA 2023), which came into force on 23 March 2023 ...
Earlier this year, the government announced its support for the passing of the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill. Should it become law, the Bill is set to bring huge change for tens of millions of employees in the UK who do not currently have a statutory right to request a predictable working pattern ...
On the 5th of April 2023 the Accounting and Auditing Regulator (“ACAR”) issued Notification 0013/23. ACAR/N reminding enterprise owners and directors of non-profit organisations of their obligation to submit, via the ACAR e-filing system, their annual financial statements for the 2022 financial year to the ACAR by the required due date ...
As schools and institutions of higher education anticipate the release of new Title IX regulations this May, on Thursday, April 6, the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”) released a new notice of proposed rulemaking relating to athletic eligibility under Title IX (the “Athletics NPRM”). The Athletics NPRM was forecast by the Department in its proposed Title IX regulations published in July 2022 ...
Previously, the Government issued Decree No. 03/2023/ND-CP dated 10 February 2023 on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Vietnam Competition Commission (“VCC”) (“Decree 03”). The Prime Minister has now issued Decision No. 310/QD-TTg dated 29 March 2023 appointing Mr. Le Trieu Dung to hold the position of Chairman of the VCC (“Decision 310”). Before being appointed as the Chairman of VCC, Mr ...
The Limited Partnerships (Jersey) Law 1994 (the “Law”) governs Jersey limited partnerships. A limited partnership seeks to combine the flexibility and “tax transparency” offered by a partnership structure with the benefits, for limited partners, of limited liability offered by a company ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on 2023 Changes to the Immigration Rules. The webinar was hosted by Pavan Sumal and Rachel Harvey and a recording of the webinar can be found below along with a summary of the key takeaways ...
To mark the launch of EG's latest UK Cities Investor Guide at MIPIM 2023, Shoosmiths real estate partner Patrick Duffy joined a panel discussion on public-private partnerships. The session explored the opportunities and challenges that will affect the growth of UK cities, as well as what more can be done to attract innovation and investment ...
The first hearings for the official UK Covid-19 Inquiry are fast approaching – though less quickly than originally anticipated, with the start date now delayed to Tuesday 13 June. Although public hearings are yet to get under way, the Inquiry has nonetheless had a busy February and March, with preliminary hearings for Modules 1 (pandemic preparedness and resilience), 2 (political and administrative decision-making) and 3 (impact on the healthcare sector) all taking place ...
Facilitating whistleblowing and supporting those who do raise concerns is a very important health check for charities, who are judged not just on the basis of what they do, but also how they do it, and who need to remain mindful of “walking the talk ...
The development of Bermuda's insurance regime is a result of prevailing market conditions and considerations. Recent enhancements to Bermuda's insurance regime have focused on commercial insurers (particularly in the life sector) and this trend looks to continue through and beyond 2023. That said, the BMA recently updated the Insurance Code of Conduct (the Code) in September 2022 ...
On 30 March 2023, the State Administration Council enacted the 2023 Union Tax Law (“2023 UTL”), which clarifies the tax rates and related procedures concerning income tax, commercial tax, and specific goods tax. This new law is effective on 1 April 2023 or the start of the new financial year 2023-2024 in Myanmar ...
The Directorate of Investments and Company Administration (“DICA“) announced on 1st April 2023 (“Announcement“) regarding the additional requirements when the annual return (“AR“) is submitted by the companies to DICA within two months after registering their company under the Myanmar Companies Law (“MCL“) ...
