Following the South African President’s speech on 15 March 2020 that a national state of disaster has been declared in terms of the coronavirus (COVID-19), a number of measures were implemented to counteract the impact of the virus by the South African Government. We cover below the legal implications of some of these measures, particularly the repayment of bookings and data protection ...
This article is an updated version of the article published on 16 March 2020. On 15 March 2020, South African President Ramaphosa announced the declaration of a national state of disaster, as a result of the recent events surrounding the rise in coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in South Africa. The declaration of a national disaster was made in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (the "DMA") ...
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Bank of Mauritius has been closely monitoring its economic impact on the banking sector and the Mauritian economy.On 10 March 2020, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Mauritius reduced the key repo rate by 50 basis points to 2.85% per annum and on 13 March 2020, the Bank of Mauritius introduced a Support Programme to further assist Mauritian Businesses across all economic sectors ...
In light of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech on the country’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) last night, there are a number of new questions that we anticipate will be plaguing employers. Given all the restrictions on travel and gatherings, should employers close their doors and send employees home? No. An employer has the obligation to provide, as far as is reasonably practicable, a safe and healthy working environment ...
As each day that passes while COVID-19 spreads throughout the country, more businesses are closing their doors to protect their employees, customers, vendors, and other people with whom they come into contact. And many of them are wondering whether there is coverage for their business losses during this time. Business interruption or business income coverage is sometimes included in commercial property coverage ...
On March 11, 2020, the City of San Francisco announced measures to support small businesses in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. The City’s support efforts include the deferral of business taxes and licensing fees, as well as the launch of an economic relief fund ...
The consequences of the coronavirus are omnipresent and felt by everyone. Management Board members and Directors of issuers of securities listed on the open or regulated market are faced with the question whether ad hoc publicity obligations are arising for their companies in connection with the corona crisis. The abstract circumstance of the occurrence of a recession as a result of the spread of the coronavirus does not trigger an ad hoc disclosure obligation ...
On March 15, 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced its offices will be closed to the public until further notice, "out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of the public and USPTO employees." The closure began Monday, March 16, 2020 until further notice. Offices remain open for employees, contractors, and those with access badges. Unless otherwise notified, USPTO operations will continue without interruption ...
At Spilman, we are often asked to review the "colder" legal aspects of human events of all types. The COVID-19 pandemic will be no different. To get a jump start on some of the questions we have faced or will face, we offer some thoughts on the contractual implications of COVID-19. Over the past week, Americans have witnessed countless unprecedented responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NBA postponed its season. The NHL soon followed ...
Due to the corona outbreak and the disease covid-19, various legal issues have arisen. The spread of the coronavirus has, inter alia, lead to several companies deciding to take measures before upcoming shareholders’ meetings, which for many public companies involve the gathering of a large number of shareholders ...
The Coronavirus pandemic is presenting companies and their directors with many challenges. Simply planning for “business as usual” requires change to usual practices, involving a balance between compliance obligations and official public health advice. Holding general meetings, particularly as we enter AGM season for listed companies with a 31 December year-end, is one such challenge ...
It seems that business disruption due to coronavirus is pretty inevitable. What should you as a company director be doing if the disruption means your business starts to suffer? What changes for me as a director? As a director, you know that you owe duties to the company ...
How do you protect the privacy of people who have been infected by Covid-19, while still usefully informing those who have been put at risk? At a time of public health emergency, shouldn't GDPR take a back seat? As companies struggle to get new processes in place to cope with the potential ramifications of Covid-19, the aim of this note is to highlight how EU data protection law applies to this unusual set of circumstances ...
Force majeure clauses in business-critical contracts are coming into sharp focus at the moment as coronavirus continues to sweep the globe and the extent of the impact on global supply chains is becoming increasingly apparent. Many businesses concerned about potential disruption as a result of the coronavirus outbreak are reviewing their key contractual arrangements to understand potential contractual implications ...
On top of the multiple challenges hitting retail and leisure landlords and occupiers arising from COVID-19, the news that Intu has had to write down the value of its shopping centre portfolio by nearly £2 billion came as further bad news. Intu owns multiple high-profile retail and leisure locations across the UK (including The Trafford Centre in Manchester and the Lakeside complex in Essex) and on 12 March was widely reported as being at risk of insolvency ...
In terms of the spread of coronavirus COVID-19, there has been quite a lot of talk aboutforce majeureand the resulting non-performance of one’s contractual obligations. In addition toforce majeure, contract law recognises also the concept of alteration of the balance of contractual obligations (§ 97 of the Law of Obligations Act) ...
Dear Clients, Friends and Partners, Since day one, our firm has been responding to the challenges of the Coronavirus emergency with proactive and socially responsible strategies. In these difficult times, our first thoughts are with all those impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak as well as with the health professionals working to help them ...
Privileged information and financial reporting The rapid spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) throughout the world and the impact of administrative measures to contain it represent a growing challenge for the management of companies. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the existence of a pandemic. The main focus now is to guarantee the safety of workers and employees ...
COVID-19: health and safety protocol - Last night the Italian Government and National representatives of employers’ associations and unions have reached an agreement over a COVID-19 health & safety protocol that employers need to implement to ensure the maximum possible protection of their employees against the COVID-19 virus. This protocol is a crucial step to allow business continuity for manufacturing companies and professional service providers ...
Many organizations may be parties to contracts where the counterparty is seeking to cancel its obligations because of COVID-19. This situation is arising in relation to various commercial relationships, including supply agreements, events planning contracts, and numerous other types of agreements ...
During the press conference of 13 March 2020, Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager made a statement regarding the enforcement of EU State aid in connection with measures adopted by Member States to combat the negative repercussions of COVID-19 on the economy ...
At a press conference held on March 11, 2020, the Minister of Health introduced the new measures ordered by the president of the Republic with a view to preventing the spread of the Coronavirus. This new measure implies preventive self-isolation for 14 days to travelers arriving from China, Italy, France and Spain. Self-isolation is mandatory and must be carried out at the traveler's hotel or home ...
