On 28 May 2022, the Belgian law transposing EU Directive 2019/2161 into the Code of Economic Law (CEL) entered into force (the “Omnibus Act”). The Omnibus Act aims to modernise consumer protection given the increasing development of e-commerce. In addition to new transparency obligations for online marketplaces, the Omnibus Act has new general information obligations, and new unfair commercial practices and obligations for price reduction announcements that apply to all retailers ...
Why a comprehensive exclusion of loss clause should cover 'wasted expenditure' - and how employers should resist. The Court of Appeal decision in Soteria Insurance Limited (formerly CIS General Insurance Limited) v IBM United Kingdom Limited (February 2022 Court of Appeal) contains a short but important point for those drafting exclusion clauses - especially those that seek to exclude indirect and consequential costs, loss of profits, loss of opportunity, etc ...
The State Bank of Vietnam (“SBV”) released a draft Circular on 11 May 2022 strengthening conditions for non-government guaranteed foreign loans (the “Draft Circular”) which aims to replace Circular No. 12/2014/TT-NHNN (the “Current Circular”). In the Draft Circular, the SBV indicates its intention to tighten control over foreign loans to address the risks on currency fluctuation and the national debt limit ...
The Second Circuit recently broadened the circumstances for when a public company should disclose government investigations. Bradley partner Elisha Kobre explains that companies will need to consider when reasonable investors would “want to know” about a probe, which is a higher standard than in earlier cases ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 leased assets emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’ ...
The UK is facing a series of economic shocks, fuelled by the increased cost-of-living, the Ukraine war hitting the global supply chain, and lasting disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. The combination of issues has led to shifts in shopping behaviours, working patterns and residential needs, while also impacting demand for space in traditional retail and leisure districts. Remedial action is needed to deal with these pressures and the resultant damage to UK high streets ...
Background On 23 May 2022, the latest amendment to the Public Limited Companies Act (No. 4), B.E. 2565 (2022) (the “PLC Amendment”) was published in the Government Gazette and it became effective on May 24, 2022. The PLC Amendment aims to facilitate public limited companies by allowing greater use of electronic communications in their business operations ...
Shortly after his administration began, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985, "Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government." In April 2022, in accordance with this Executive Order, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") released its "Equity Action Plan," which contains several items that may impact employers ...
In a judgement rendered on June 3, 2022,1 the Court of Appeal of Quebec reiterated that a judge who has an application for confinement in an institution before them must inform the parties when they consider that the psychiatric reports filed are insufficiently detailed. In these circumstances, the Court must allow the parties to remedy deficiencies in the evidence rather than dismissing the application. The Court of Appeal based its reasoning on the following articles: Article 268 of the C ...
In a class action lawsuit filed Monday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Binance.US (Binance), a major cryptocurrency exchange, has been accused of misleading investors surrounding the Terra blockchain ecosystem. This is the first major court filing in the United States relating to Terra, whose UST and LUNC tokens crashed in May, wiping out around $40 billion in investor funds ...
Kudun and Partners represented Quantifi Photonics Limited, a company headquartered in New Zealand and an expert in harnessing, manipulating, and measuring the physical properties of light, with respect to the indirect share acquisition of SmarTest Thailand Ltd., a designer and manufacturer of high-speed test and measurement equipment used in optical communication, semiconductor manufacturing, and defense and aerospace industries ...
The section 238 appraisal process under the Companies Act [1] in the Cayman Islands is a vital safeguard designed to protect minority shareholders' economic interests. When there is a merger or consolidation involving at least one Cayman company under Part XVI of the Companies Act, a dissenting shareholder may demand payment of the “fair value” in respect of all his shares ...
June 13, 2022 By: Melissa Richards On June 9, 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (CA DFPI) issued its long awaited final regulations implementing SB 1235’s (2018) new early disclosure requirements on commercial financing offers equal to or less than $500,000. The CA DFPI regulations take effect December 9, 2022. The final regulations can be found at Title 10, Chapter 3 of the California Code of Regulations. The link to Chapter 3 is HERE ...
The United Kingdom (UK) Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act (the Act”) came into force on 15th March, 2022. A new Register of Overseas Entities will be created and held by Companies House. This new Act forms part of the UK government’s strategy to combat economic crime, while making sure that legitimate businesses continue to see the UK as a great place to invest ...
Kudun and Partners recently contributed to the Thailand Chapter of the Digital Business 2022 guide by the International Comparative Legal Guide (ICLG), a leading global platform for legal reference and comprehensive comparative legal guides that cover law in more than 192 jurisdictions across 58 practice areas ...
Troy Schooneman, partner and head of Kudun and Partners’ International Practice was invited to be a panelist at the World Services Group(WSG)’s Asia Pacific Region Discussion on Offshore Law Regime, a collaborative online seminar organized by the World Services Group (WSG) together with Kudun and Partners, an award-winning independent law firm in Thailand; Carey Olsen, a leading offshore law firm advising on Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey law, an
On 25 May 2022, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its new 10-year strategy (“the Strategy”) which will inform its activities until 2032. As recognised in the Foreword, “the organisation’s role and responsibilities are growing, particularly in the areas of building safety, chemicals regulation and supporting sustainable, healthy, workplace practices ...
On the 25th of May 2022 the General Department of Taxation (“GDT”) issued Notification No. 10979 GDT on the “Required Documents to Support the Interest Charge on Related Party Loans” (“Notification 10979”). The key points to be taken from Notification 10979 are as follows: To ensure compliance with Prakas No. 986 MEF.P ...
In the recent case ofAslan v Stepanoski[1](the Aslan case), the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, Australia upheld a builder’s action suspending the performance of works over non-payment and denial of access to the site by the employer. The Court held that the contractor’s decision to suspend works was not a repudiatory conduct as he was entitled to do so under the contract ...
In this recent article published in Engineering News, WSG Member Mihlali Sitefane, Senior Associate at ENSafrica, provides insightful information on the importance of renewable energy project developers paying closer attention to stakeholder management to avoid pitfalls ...
