“ESG” is an acronym that is being used with growing frequency across the investment community. ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance criteria, which are increasingly used by socially conscious investors when deciding whether or not to invest in a company. Environmental criteria are effectively a company’s green credentials. Social criteria relate to the people the company works with and the community it serves ...
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have taken on an increased significance in recent years, and the pace of change is accelerating. ESG performance is becoming an additional standard by which businesses are being judged by consumers, investors and other stakeholders ...
In a fascinating court case involving perhaps the best known players in the crytocurrency sector, old legal principles were used to try to solve a new problem. The claim relates to very substantial digital currency assets that Tulip Trading Limited (TTL) claimed it owned but is currently unable to control or use. Following what it says was a hack of computers at the home office of Dr Craig Wright, its primary owner, the company allegedly lost access to more than 111,000 bitcoins ...
Controversially, the ‘Everyone Wins’ goody bags gifted to this year’s Oscar nominees included “the title of Lord or Lady of Glencoe, along with a small plot of land in Scotland”. However, the recipients may be disappointed to learn that this particular ‘freebie’, distributed alongside gourmet foods, cosmetic surgery, and luxury trips, confers neither title nor ownership ...
In April 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14026 to increase the minimum wage for federal government contractors to $15 per hour. On November 23, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final rule implementing Executive Order 14026. The rule requires any federal “contractor” to pay employees a minimum hourly wage of $15 and overtime wages for work beyond 40 hours per week. This wage is subject to yearly increases determined by DOL ...
Introduction On 7 April 2022, the Department of Finance (DOF) issued Revenue Regulation (RR) No. 3-2022 to implement Republic Act (RA) No. 11635. RA No. 11635 provides for income tax on proprietary educational institutions and hospitals, which are non-profit organisations. RR No ...
Angolan Central Bank (Banco Nacional de Angola, “BNA”) recently published Notice 10/22 of 6 April to update the scope of application of Notice 10/20 of 3 April on the granting credit to the real sector of the economy. The new Notice establishes (i) the terms and conditions applicable to the this type of credit, (ii) the minimum requirements in terms of number and total value and (iii) the treatment in the calculation of the reserve requirements ...
Decree-Law 30-A/2022was published on 18 April to approve the exceptional measures intended to ensure the simplification of the procedures for producing energy from renewable sources. These measures came into force on 19 April and will be in force for a period of 2 years. These exceptional measures have been published by the Government in the current macroeconomic and geopolitical situation ...
Following the Grenfell Tower disaster, we have seen changes to how cladding is regulated in Scotland. The most recent change comes into force on 1 June 2022 in terms of the Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022. The Grenfell Tower disaster changed the lives of local residents and their families forever. It also brought the use of cladding and what lies beneath the external aesthetics of a building into sharp focus ...
On March 15th, 2022, the new law of Guarantees and Integral Protection of Children and Adolescents came into force. The law establishes a guarantee and protection statute that makes possible the enjoyment and effective exercise of the rights of children and adolescents with emphasis on the human rights recognized by the Constitution, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international treaties ratified by Chile and in local legislation ...
The Digital Commodity Exchange Act of 2022(DCEA), introduced by Republican representatives Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania and Tom Emmer of Minnesota, along with Democratic representatives Darren Soto of Florida and Ro Khanna of California, would create a definition for “digital commodity” and allow the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to oversee companies issuing or letting people trade certain tokens, while having the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on May 3, 2022 the near doubling of the unit responsible for protecting investors in crypto markets and from cyber-related threats by allocating 20 additional positions to that team. The rebranded Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit (formerly known as the Cyber Unit) (CACU), which is part of the Division of Enforcement, will now number 50 full-time professionals. “The U.S ...
On 17 February 2022, the Royal Government of Cambodia issued the Sub-Decree on the Organization and Functioning of the Cambodia Competition Commission (“CCC“) (No. 37 ANKR.BK) (“Sub-Decree“). The Sub-Decree provides the structure and function for the Cambodia Competition Commission, the regulatory authority designated under the Law on Competition ...
The Financial Market Commission ("CMF") published on April 13, 2022, in effect as of July 12, 2022, the General Rule No. 472 that regulates the investment advisory services in Chile, specifically the requirements and procedures for registration, cancellation and suspension in the Registry of Investment Advisors (the "Registry") and the obligations to which such advisors will be subject to, including the requirements regarding the disclosure of information (“NCG 472”) ...
Last September, the AMF published its draft Regulation respecting complaint processing and dispute resolution in the financial sector (the ?Draft Regulation?). The consultation period for it ended on December 8, 2021. The AMF is currently reviewing the many comments it received. The Draft Regulation1 aims to harmonize and improve complaint processing in the financial sector by providing for new mechanisms to ensure prompt and efficient complaint processing, among other things ...
Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals L.P. v. U.S. Venture, Inc., Appeal Nos. 2020-1640, -1641 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 29, 2022) Our case of the week has a little bit for everyone, including lost profits, reasonable royalties, enhanced damages, claim construction, and more. However, the primary issue was application of the experimental use exception to the on-sale bar. The experimental use exception, which traces to City of Elizabeth v. Am. Nicholson Pavement Co., 97 U.S ...
Governor Inslee’s March 24, 2022 signing of House Bill 1329 marks the introduction of changes to the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), the focus of which concerns public meetings’ accessibility and participation in the same. While the majority of these changes take effect at the fast approaching date of June 9, 2022, the Governor’s signing immediately implemented others ...
Governor Inslee’s March 24, 2022 signing of House Bill 1329 marks the introduction of changes to the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), the focus of which concerns public meetings’ accessibility and participation in the same. While the majority of these changes take effect at the fast approaching date of June 9, 2022, the Governor’s signing immediately implemented others ...
Insolvency Law Update-Proceedings Against Guarantors CONTRIBUTION BY: Samiron Borkataky, Partner, Kochhar & Co. EMAIL: samiron.borkataky@kochhar ...