The aim of the recent freedom of information (FOI) reforms was to encourage a pro-disclosure culture, and to provide additional assistance and guidance to both the applicant and agencies in processing FOI requests. However, since the commencement of those reforms, maintaining the balance between the philosophy and the practical operation of the FOI Act has presented challenges for agencies in meeting their statutory FOI obligations ...
On 1 October 2011 changes to the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 will come into force. The changes will apply to any construction contract entered into on or after that date. Construction contracts entered into before this date will continue to be governed by the old rules ...
When things go wrong in a construction project, multiparty contractual relationships almost inevitably increase the difficulty of achieving a negotiated settlement. On the other hand, the motivations for settlement may remain strong, often in the hope of avoiding significant legal costs, saving time and preserving existing business relationships ...
On April 4, 2011, the Honourable Benoît Morin, speaking for the Court of Appeal, with Justices Michel Robert and Jacques A. Léger concurring, issued a judgment co nfirming the decision of the Superior Court rendered on April 22, 2009 by the Honourable Jean-Yves Lalonde. The case arose out of the bankruptcy of Stonehaven Country Club Resort & Spa L.P. (“Stonehaven”)(1) ; the Court had to rule on the validity of Investissement Québec’s claim against the bankrupt co mpany ...
As you will be aware, 1 January 2012 is the go live date for OHS harmonisation. A new OHS Act, Regulation and Codes of Practice will commence in the Commonwealth and in each State and Territory at this time. The new package of OHS legislation will be based on model legislation, so will be substantially similar in each jurisdiction. For detailed information about the state of play in relation to OHS harmonisation, see our HR&IR Update of 22 June 2011 ...
Following the introduction of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Bill 2011 (Bill) and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2011 (Transitional Bill) into the Commonwealth Parliament (as reported in our news alert of 23 March 2011), the Senate referred the Bill and the Transitional Bill to the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee (Commi
Market Overview As the timeshare market continues to recover from the dramatic contraction of the tourism industry and overall decline in consumer discretionary spending, Western Reserve believes a “dose of equity” is needed to aid this recovery and recapitalize this highly leveraged industry Significant consolidation is expected among smaller private operators, which do not possess critical mass to pursue public equity and are too small
1. International anti-corruption conventions To which international anti-corruption conventions is your country a signatory? Chile is a signatory to and has ratified the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. 2 ...
Contents * Foreign Reporting: a Costly Oversight, * The Act Respecting the Legal Publicity of Enterprises and Limited Partnerships: We Win, We Lose… Maybe! * What Should You Do When Tax Authorities Pay a Visit to Your Client? * Beware of Hybrid Sales Transactions Involving Assets and Shares! FOREIGN REPORTING: A COSTLY OVERSIGHT Pascale Blanchet [email protected] Luc Pariseau lpariseau@lavery ...
On May 4, 2011, an important Bill was presented by the Minister for Finance, Mr. Alain Paquet. The effect of Bill 7, entitled An Act to amend various legislative provisions concerning the financial sector, is, among other things, to amend section 115 of the Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services (“ARDFPS”) and to add sections 115.1 to 115.9 ARDFPS ...
The new Immigration Bill was passed by the Indonesian Parliament on 7 April 2011. It will pass into law on the day it is signed by the President or within 30 days of its passage, whichever occurs earlier.The bill covers a range of basic matters relating to immigration, including entry to and exit from the Indonesian territory, travel documents, visas, stay permits, etc ...
New Off-shore Loan Reporting Regulations – Bank Indonesia is to commence imposing fines as of July 2011, for the June 2011 reporting period. Note that for corporations, there is no minimum loan reporting limitation, whereas for individuals, only loans or groups of loans which together exceed US$200,000 or its equivalent must be reported.Bank Indonesia keeps track of foreign loan obligations for statistical purposes and to assist it in formulating monetary policy ...
On 30 March 2011, Bank of Italy published a set of supervisory provisions concerning banks’ remuneration and incentive policies and practices (the “New Regulations”) with the purpose to implement the European Directive 2010/76/EC of 24 November 2010 (“Capital Requirements Directive III” or “CRD III Directive”) ...
Are donations of counterfeit goods to charities socially acceptable? - Despite calls for seized counterfeit goods to be donated to charity, a number of conditions should be met in order to protect both IP rights holders and those receiving the goods Nobody would dispute that in today’s world, the social and environmental impacts of our actions must be taken into consideration whenever we make a decision ...
On May 11, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada released its reasons for judgment in Sharbern Holding Inc. v. Vancouver Airport Centre Ltd, 2011 SCC 23. While the case was decided under the now repealed Real Estate Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 397, the findings are nonetheless of interest to real estate developers governed by the Real Estate Development Marketing Act, S.B.C. 2004, c. 41 (“REDMA”) ...
The Royal Decree of 3 March 2011 regarding the evolution of the supervisory architecture of the financial sector (“Koninklijk besluit betreffende de evolutie van de toezichtsarchitectuur voor de financiële sector” / “Arrêté royal mettant en oeuvre l'évolution des structures de contrôle du secteur financier”) (the “Royal Decree”) entered into force ...
Latest news on Italian Investment Funds: Italian Government withdraws proposed regulatory changes affecting real estate and private estate equity funds and adopts new taxation scheme for investors in real estate funds ...
The Memorandum of Understanding entered into between the Portuguese State and the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission (“the Troika”) sets forth a range of goals and measures that shall be implemented by the Portuguese State in order to promote competition in the markets as a means to improve economic growth ...
The Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) published a draft Commercial Practices Guideline, which is available for public consultation on the website of the AMF until April 22, 2011. This Guideline constitutes a statement of principle on the expectations of the AMF concerning the sound commercial practices of insurers and financial institutions ...
1 Collateral What types of collateral are available? Collateral used in secured financings can also be used in project financings ...
As expected, the FDIC moved against the former key officers of Washington Mutual Bank, namely its former President/CEO, COO and Home Loans President in March. The FDIC believes that these three people are responsible for WaMu’s higher risk lending program, which accounted for the bank’s huge losses. It is reported that the damages being sought against the defendants may be in excess of $900 million, which should grab anyone’s attention ...
In March 2011, the Fourth Circuit issued a decision that has potentially substantial impact on the banking community at large, especially as it relates to decisions on whether to extend credit to a debtor after he or she receives a discharge in bankruptcy. In Maryland v. Ciotti (In re Ciotti), 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 4492 (4th Cir. Mar ...
Last Thursday and Friday, I was in Charlotte for the UNC School of Law Banking Institute. The conference is very deserving of its great reputation; it was very informative (Albeit after almost 6 hours of Dodd-Frank analysis on Thursday, I was just glad to be able to stand.) ...
On April 4, 2011, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a Final Rule implementing the prioritized examination track (“Track I”) of its new examination timing control procedures.1 Under Track I, patent applicants can accelerate examination of certain patent applications that are filed on or after May 4, 2011 ...
As of 6 April 2011 the property sector will be subject to the full application of competition law. Until now, restrictions on competition contained in land agreements have benefited from a specific exemption. This exemption has been withdrawn so that from 6 April 2011 the rules on restrictive agreements apply in full to existing and new agreements ...
