On August 7, 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada released its much anticipated decision of Nolan v. Kerry (Canada) Inc., a decision that concerns the ability of a plan sponsor to charge pension plan administrative expenses to the pension fund and the ability of a sponsor to use the actuarial surplus in the defined benefit portion of a pension plan to fund a contribution holiday in respect of the defined contribution portion of the plan ...
A small measure of relief may be coming to some beleaguered Michigan communities that have been struggling recently with the difficult question of what actions they can realistically take to encourage much-needed local economic development while remaining cognizant of the financial limitations associated with lower revenues, higher costs and uncertain economic projections. The answer for some might be found in recovery zone financings ...
On the 1st June 2009, the major parts of the Insolvency Act 2009 (“the Act”) came into operation. The Act has completely revamped the insolvency regime in Mauritius and new provisions now govern “voidable transactions” following a company liquidation. The “ordinary course of business” test, which was prevailing under the former regime, has now been abandoned and replaced by what is known as the “running account principle” ...
A recent Court of Appeal case has cast doubt on the value of such 'non-waiver' clauses. When a party to a contract waives a breach of that contract by the other party, it voluntarily abandons its legal rights to enforce the contract, or to claim any remedy, in relation to that breach. A waiver must be clear, but may be oral or written. Importantly, a waiver need not be express, but can be inferred from a course of conduct ...
A number of laws and regulations have been promulgated in the past few years to introduce a series of changes to the existing PRC Labour Law, among which the key legislations are the PRC Labour Contract Law effective on 1 January 2008 and its detailed implementing regulations effective on 18 September 2008 ("Laws") ...
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recently issued proceedings against a franchisor and its director for allegedly engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct, in breach of section 52 of the Trade Practices Act (TPA). Various breaches of the Franchising Code of Conduct (Code) have also been alleged ...
IntroductionAs of 8 January 2009, Belgian listed companies and financial undertakings are required to have an audit committee. The Law of 17 December 2008 on the establishment of an audit committee in listed companies and financial undertakings (the “Law”) then enters into force ...
1. IntroductionThe Royal Decree of 8 October 2008 amending the Belgian Companies Code (“BCC”) has amended the rules on financial assistance. The new rules entered into force on 1 January 2009. The Royal Decree implements European Directive 2006/68/EC amending the Second Company Law Directive. The Belgian rules on financial assistance apply to public limited-liability companies (NV/SA), private limited-liability companies (BVBA/SPRL), partnerships limited by shares (Comm ...
The House of Lords has today given its long awaited judgement in the Stringer case (previously known as Ainsworth). The House of Lords allowed the employees' appeal, overturning the Court of Appeal's earlier decision and substituting the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal ...
On June 17, 2009, the Obama administration issued a "white paper" which proposes a sweeping reorganization of financial-market supervision. The plan would touch almost every corner of banking from how mortgages are underwritten to the way exotic financial instruments are traded. The plan will undoubtedly be modified during the Legislative process. Banks in other countries have already objected to the proposed international effects ...
The Labour Market Opinion (LMO) program of Service Canada has recently changed: extension applications for LMOs are no longer permitted. Instead, each request to continue to employ a foreign worker will be treated as a new LMO request and will need to be supported by evidence of updated recruitment activity ...
Technical Resolution 26 – FACPCE Dated March 20, 2009 the FACPCE (Argentine Federation of Economic Sciences Professional Boards) approved Technical Resolution No. 26 “Adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards of the Board” effective as from the years commenced after January 1st, 2011, not admitting an earlier application ...
I. Legal Framework The banking business in the Republic of Panama is regulated by Decree-Law No. 9 of February 26, 1998 and its amendments (the “Banking Law”). The Banking Law created the Superintendency of Banks (the “Superintendency”), which is the government agency in charge of supervising and overseeing banking operations and the exercise of the banking business in the Republic of Panama ...
Robertson v. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., 2009 BCSC 602 Employee not constructively dismissed when employer’s unilateral reduction in his remuneration was small and he waited too long to complain about changes to his duties. Robertson was employed by West Fraser Timber (“WFT”) and its predecessor Weldwood for twenty-nine years ...
A lot hinged on the answer to the following question for thousands of businesses and organisations across the UK. When is equipment used at work not work equipment for the purposes of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998? It was put before the House of Lords at a hearing on 4 February 2009, exactly one year after the same question was considered by the Court of Appeal ...
How far do you have to go in carrying out risk assessments when the risks to your employees arise from activities conducted off your premises? It is a question that has always troubled health and safety advisors. The recent decision of the House of Lords in Smith (Jean) v Northamptonshire County Council, 2009 has helped to define the boundaries. In this case a care worker employed by the council was injured at a client's home ...
1- What is the structure of the civil court system? The Portuguese judicial system is complex and the competence of each type of court is defined considering the nature of the dispute to be settled. The main division established is between judicial jurisdiction and administrative and tax jurisdiction. The territory is divided for judicial purposes and normally each municipality has its own judicial court with generic competence ...
1. The court system What is the structure of the civil court system? In Italy there are three levels of courts: first-instance courts (justices of the peace and tribunals); second-instance courts (courts of appeal for judgments rendered by tribunals, and tribunals for judgments rendered by justices of the peace); and the Court of Cassation (Supreme Court) ...
The High Court has held that in certain circumstances, an employee has the right to be represented by a lawyer at internal disciplinary hearings. The Employment Relations Act 1999 gives employees a statutory right to be accompanied only by a work colleague or union official at disciplinary and grievance hearings. The good practice recommendations in the new ACAS Code on Disciplinary and Grievance in the Workplace reflect this ...
On 6 April 2009 the Mandatory Dismissal and Disciplinary Procedures and Grievance Procedures (the statutory procedures) will be Repealed when Relevant Provisions of the Employment Act 2008 Come Into Force. It is no exaggeration to say that this is one of the most eagerly awaited changes to employment law for many years, and it is all but impossible to find anyone who doesn't view this as a positive development ...
The shifting of the burden of proof is an issue of great concern for suppliers when involved with litigation over product liability ...
Reduction in Income Tax for Publicly Owned Companies The Ministry of Finance recently issued regulation No.238/PMK.03/2008 of 2008 regarding the Procedures for and Supervision of the Granting of Tariff Reductions to Local Entity Tax Payers which are Publicly Owned Companies ...
New Law on Aviation In order to keep up with the development of the aviation industry in Indonesia, on 17 December 2008, the House of Representatives passed the Bill on Aviation. This Bill came in force on 12 January 2009 as Law No 1 of 2009 regarding Aviation (“Law 1”) ...
I. IntroductionIt has been over 4 years since the Constitutional Court’s ruling on 26 October 2004 which declared that Article 158 and other relevant articles of the Manpower Law in relation to serious misconduct were against the Indonesia Constitution and therefore were not legally binding. The legal effect of the ruling was that an employer cannot immediately terminate an employee for serious misconduct ...
In the current economic downturn it seems that industrial relations are once again in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Recent "wildcat" strikes over the use of foreign labour suggest a trend towards more militant attitudes within the workforce and the possibility of greater industrial unrest. The UK's labour laws are very complex ...
