1. There is a high possibility that you will have to present your case to an expert: Although the appointment of experts is more likely in disputes involving technical issues (e.g. maritime disputes, construction disputes, etc.), it is increasingly common for the UAE courts to refer disputes which, on the face of it do not require expert assistance, to experts. The courts have the power to do so in terms of Article 69 of the Federal Evidence Law (No ...
With tax litigation becoming more prevalent in recent years, taxpayers are now faced with new issues.One such issue is: when and to what extent will documents bearing an electronic signature be acceptable under the relevant tax legislation?In this regard, section 255(2) of the Tax Administration Act No ...
Artificial intelligence is a burning topic in many sectors today and the legal industry is no exception. Recently, at the World Services Group’s annual employment law1 conference held in February, AI was heavily debated along with its’ impact not only on the legal profession, lawyers, clients, the way business is done, but also our traditional understanding of concepts such as “law” or “justice” ...
Tackling base erosion and profit shifting remains a priority for the National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”). It was recently reported that in the 2021 fiscal year, SARS dealt with 345 cases of transfer pricing, base erosion and profit shifting to the value of almost ZAR12-billion. Yet, only three South African courts have dealt with transfer pricing ...
In line with the actions planned in the European Union’s tax policy agenda to reform the corporate tax system, the Proposal for a Council Directive 2021/0434 (the “Unshell Directive”) was published on 22 December 2021. This proposal introduces a set of rules to prevent the improper use of shell companies (companies without economic substance) exclusively intended to obtain tax advantages ...
What is the CTA? The CTA was enacted on January 1st, 2021 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act to prevent the use of companies to evade anti-money laundering rules or to hide other illegal activities. Under the CTA companies will be required to report information regarding its beneficial owners with a beneficial ownership registry maintained by the United States Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) ...
According to The Federal law as of July 24, 2009 N 212-FZ “On Insurance Contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, Social Security Fund of the Russian Federation, Federal Medical Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation and Territorial Medical Insurance Funds” that has been passed by the State Duma, the Unified social tax (UST) shall be replaced from the year 2010 with insurance contributions to particular types of social security to be paid to four separate non-budge
The recent case of John Doyle Construction (JDC) v Erith Contractors Limited provides two lessons for the construction sector concerning the enforcement of adjudicators’ decisions by companies in liquidation. First, “clear, evidenced, and unequivocal security” is necessary before enforcement is possible. Second, where a solvent and paying party asserts set-off and counter-claims, enforcement is prohibited in most circumstances ...
On 12 May 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson committed to holding a Public Inquiry into COVID-19 that will place "the state's actions under the microscope". Demonstrating that it is independent, objective and fair is fundamental to an Inquiry’s purpose. We take a look at the extent to which the State can effectively examine itself in a Public Inquiry when it has ultimate responsibility for determining the remit, and therefore inevitably the scope of any conclusions ...
Earlier this year, the government announced its support for the passing of the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill. Should it become law, the Bill is set to bring huge change for tens of millions of employees in the UK who do not currently have a statutory right to request a predictable working pattern ...
The UAE recently amended its legal framework on abortion to expand the circumstances under which abortions are permitted and ease the rules regarding the circumstances under which abortions are permissible. Cabinet Decision No. 44/2024 (the Decision) came into effect on 21 June 2024 and progressively changed UAE’s law on abortion ...
The approval of the long awaited Federal Law on Arbitration by the Federal National Council was announced earlier this year ...
April 18, 2024 By: Leah Lively and Alexandra Shulman The Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, that will make it easier for employees to pursue discrimination claims against their employers based on job transfers or other non-pecuniary personnel decisions. In Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, Muldrow, a female police officer, alleged that she was transferred to a less desirable unit because a new supervisor preferred a male officer for the role ...
On June 13, 2011, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in United States v. Jicarilla Apache Nation, 564 U.S. ___ (2011), holding that the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege does not apply to the United States government’s administration of Indian trusts ...
Equal pay claims have been on the increase in recent years, highlighting the importance of employers paying men and women equally for undertaking the same work or work that is rated equal value. But what are the unintended consequences of such claims? There has been much media coverage over the last week about Birmingham City Council (BCC) being effectively declared bankrupt[1] resulting in the Council being forced to apply rigorous spending cuts as a result ...
Is Coronavirus the Great Leveller? When the novel coronavirus first started spreading like wildfire, people called it the “great leveller”. No respecter of status or economic background, Covid-19 affected people at all strata, from housemaids to Hollywood royalty; peons to prime ministers. Tom Hanks, Boris Johnson and an aide to US Vice President Mike Pence all contracted it ...
It is now common knowledge that after January 2, 2022, issuing a cheque that is dishonoured for the lack of funds is no longer going to be a criminal offence in the UAE (for a primer on the changes made to the law, clickHere). But what of ongoing complaints and criminal cases regarding cheques that were dishonoured prior to January 2? Circular No. (9) of 2021, issued by the Dubai Public Prosecution Department on 19 December 2021, helpfully clarifies how such cases are to be handled ...
On March 17, 2008, the Court of Québec fined Transpavé Inc. $110,000 after it pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal negligence causing the death of one of its employees. This is a first in Canada since the Criminal Code was amended so that an organization could be found guilty of criminal negligence in occupational health and safety matters ...
We summarize here what we believe are the top 5 Alabama tax cases decided in the past year that would interest our CPA readers. Not surprisingly, almost all are Alabama Tax Tribunal rulings, so in those instances we deleted that reference and simply list the date of the latest ruling. If you’d like a copy of or have a question about any of these rulings, please email one of us ...
Starting June 1, 2019 individuals once more receive the right to participate in the updated voluntary disclosure program ("amnesty"), which provide guarantees of exemption from some types of liability related to use of foreign bank accounts and foreign companies. Declarants may submit the special declaration until February 29, 2020 ...
The golden thread passing through the equality scheme[1] of the Indian constitution is “enjoyment of life by all citizens and an equal opportunity to grow as human beings irrespective of their race, caste, religion, community, social status and gender”.One of the basic tenets of the equality scheme lies in the recognition and acknowledgment of the “right of choice and self-determination” ...
Can an employee’s insubordination amount to repudiation of his employment contract, thus providing his employer with just and sufficient cause to dismiss him? In a judgment rendered on September 20, 2013, the Québec Court of Appeal answered this question in the negative.1 The plaintiff, Pilgrim, filed a complaint pursuant to section 124 of the Act Respecting Labour Standards against his former employer alleging that he had been dismissed without just and sufficient cause ...
As data centers play a crucial role in the growing digital world, many businesses undoubtedly need reliable data hosting services to facilitate better data management ...
