On 15 March 2020, the President of South Africa, in a national address, announced the declaration of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as a "national disaster". Since then, many significant consequential announcements have been made, relating to restrictions on movement, business activity, travel and other matters, all in the interests of preventing an escalation of the national disaster and alleviating, containing and minimising the effects of the national disaster ...
Now that South Africa is under lockdown for the next 21 days, as part of an organisation’s business continuity efforts, businesses will, to the extent possible, continue to run remotely. Two common legal issues that arise from remote working are: the electronic signing of agreements and instructions; and whether meetings can take place using technological means. In this article, we touch on both issues ...
The M&A market has entered a volatile period, but there are several strategies that you as a seller or buyer can use to navigate your deal through to completion. These strategies may be particularly relevant for buyers who have secured financing or large cash reserves. We also expect that it will generally be a buyer’s market for some time to come. Read this article as a PDF here. Purchase price mechanism ...
Decree 457 of 2020 issued a mandatory preventive isolation order for every resident of the Republic of Colombia, as a consequence of the economic, social and ecological emergency that has been declared in the national territory. In this regard, it is required to regulate the mandatory isolation ordered by Decree 092 of 2020 in Bogotá D.C ...
In the turmoil of adjusting and living day-to-day in this time of the COVID-19 virus, the public has become more attuned to the reality of the term “Supply Chain.” We are gaining a better appreciation that before products reach the consumer, an extensive network of shippers and transportation entities of all types and modes of commerce, as well as freight brokers and any other functions essential to the delivery cycle, are at play 24/7 ...
Last week, in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Premerger Notification Office of the Federal Trade Commission (the “PNO”) announced temporary e-filing procedures for the submission of HSR filings and a temporary suspension of early termination requests. Key Takeaways: As of March 17, 2020, the PNO and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) will accept only electronic submissions of HSR filings (no paper or DVD filings) ...
As if businesses did not have enough to worry about during this COVID-19 pandemic, it’s times like these when cybersecurity risk is at its peak. Distracted employees may be psychologically vulnerable to attack, and shifting quickly and unexpectedly to a remote workforce can create technology and control risks. It’s a perfect storm for cyber risk ...
In the wake of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak, Congress sought to pass a stimulus bill designed to mitigate the negative impact on the U.S. economy of measures taken to slow the spread of the virus.Hopes of a quick passage of the bill dimmed on March 21, when the Democrat and Republican negotiators in the Senate could not agree on worker protections or stock buyback restrictions for businesses that received funding, among other issues ...
In order to alleviate the effects of the coronavirus, the Swedish government has proposed a crisis package that includes proposals for strengthening companies’ liquidity through the tax account, a new system for short-term working and the state taking over responsibility for sick-leave payment for two months. It is of course our hope that these proposals will result in most companies managing the effects of the coronavirus ...
Superintendence of Environment orders the suspension of terms and enforces virtual channels in the context of Covid-19 The Superintendence of Environment has suspended all of sanctioning proceedings and implemented virtual channels to receive consultations, complaints and replace its reception office ...
The General Meeting during the State of Emergency? Can it take place? And can it be convened? Do crisis measures contain an exception for meetings of the statutory organs of the company (e.g ...
An issue concerning businesses at present is the problem of settlements between them resulting from non-culpable inability to perform contracts. This is an area that may require the Parliament’s intervention if current regulations prove insufficient. Due to the closure of anumber of facilities (restaurants, cinemas, some retail outlets), businesses are incurring huge losses ...
The awaited regulation by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment on issuance of the Certificate for emergency situations (“CES”) has been adopted through Order 791/2020 relating to the granting of emergency certificates to the economic operators whose activity is affected in the context of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic published on 25 March ...
Having begun as a fairly localized issue in the centre of China, the COVID-19 outbreak has spread rapidly across borders, significantly impacting the global economy and causing havoc in financial markets. The impact has been across all sectors, from transport and tourism to manufacturing, technology, energy, retail and beyond ...
Employers have to face a number of issues in the current situation, some of which have data protection implications. Below you will find a brief summary of the data protection issues which are typically arising as a result of the pandemic, in a Q&A format.With regard to question no ...
In an attempt to ensure that the spread of COVID-19 is contained effectively, the Indian Government has mandated a complete nationwide lockdown for 21 days beginning from March 25, 2020, 00:00 hrs. Mandatory Closure of Commercial Establishments All shops, commercial establishments, factories, workshops and offices, excluding establishments engaged in providing essential are required to be shut down ...
Financial Market Commission Announces a Package of Measures to Facilitate Credit Flow to Both Companies and Individuals By Diego Peralta and Diego Lasagna On March 23, 2020, the Financial Market Commission’s Council (“CMF”) approved new measures destined to grant more flexibility to the financial system, in the context of the coronavirus Covid-19 global outbreak ...
Obligation of Czech employers to protect employees from coronavirusPursuant to Section 106 (1) of the Labour Code, an employee has the right be assured of occupational health and safety protection at work (hereinafter referred to as "OHS"), even during a pandemic.Regarding prevention, the provision in section 102 of the Labor Code remains paramount ...
State of Emergency Conditions What does "state of emergency" actually meanand what are the powers of the Government in the regard? Can someone claim damages incurred in relation to the state of emergency? State of Emergency With effect from 12 March 2020 at 2 pm, the Government of the Czech Republic (the “Government”) has declared astate of emergency for 30 daysfor the territory of the Czech Republic due to health threats related to the presence of coronavirus in the
