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 Thursday, January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay pausing implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Emergency Temporary Standard, finding that the challengers to the ETS are likely to prevail. Justices John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh issued the decision to stay the OSHA ETS. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas concurred with their own separate opinion ...
On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a final rule on the use of Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) provided to state, local, and tribal governments pursuant to the American Rescue Plan (ARP). While the final rule largely includes the eligible uses of SLFRF funds described in the interim rule issued in May of 2021, the Treasury expanded and provided more detail on eligible uses ...
While the U.S. Supreme Court continues to deliberate over whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) is a valid exercise of OSHA’s regulatory authority, OSHA has continued to update their ETS FAQs to provide more guidance to employers. In particular, OSHA has clarified the requirements that apply to the use of over-the-counter COVID-19 tests (OTC Tests) for compliance with the testing requirements of the ETS ...
On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a final rule on the use of Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) provided to state, local, and tribal governments pursuant to the American Rescue Plan (ARP). While the final rule largely includes the eligible uses of SLFRF funds described in the interim rule issued in May of 2021, the Treasury expanded and provided more detail on eligible uses ...
On Jan. 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States lifted the injunction on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) vaccine mandate (Mandate).[1] Previously, injunctions were imposed by district courts in Missouri and Louisiana, and affirmed on appeal by the Eighth and Fifth Circuits, respectively, thereby prohibiting enforcement of the Mandate in 24 states ...
On Jan. 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued an order blocking enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring (among other things) employers of 100 or more employees to require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or ensure unvaccinated employees are tested for COVID-19 weekly ...
On December 16, 2021, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board readopted the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS), but included several revisions which will go into effect on January 14, 2022 and which will remain in effect for three months. In addition, CDPH issued updated guidance for the general public this month. That guidance on isolation and quarantine requirements has now replaced the ETS exclusion periods and return to work criteria for all workers as of January 14, 2022 ...
In May 2021, the UK Government commissioned an independent, fan-led review of football governance in England following three “crisis events”. The report has thus far received a varied reception. Some have welcomed its recommendations, and believe that they will bring about much needed reform of the current model of football governance ...
I have recently been advising a farmer in relation to an appeal against a department penalty imposed for an alleged breach of GAEC (Good Agricultural Environmental Conditions). These are the conditions farmers claiming agricultural support payments must comply with, and which are designed to safeguard soils, habitats and landscape features on agricultural land. A breach of GAEC can lead to financial penalties being imposed on the farmer ...
The Court of Session has considered whether court proceedings can be raised to interrupt time bar, despite a contractual provision requiring adjudication before litigation. The issue Construction contracts often provide a hierarchy of dispute resolution processes. Before a party is permitted to litigate (or arbitrate), it is often required to attempt to resolve the dispute through another method (or methods) of dispute resolution ...
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 ...
Certain claims in contentious executry matters, such as challenging a will, must be made within a specific time period. Where a dispute arises, seeking legal advice about the relevant time period at the earliest opportunity is of fundamental importance. In Scots law, the loss of a claim due to the passage of time is known as prescription and is presently governed by the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 ...
The Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act 2021 received Royal Assent on 15 December 2021. The Act implements changes to the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (the CDDA). Importantly, it will allow the Insolvency Service to investigate the conduct of directors of dissolved companies. What is the current position? The CDDA allows the Insolvency Service to investigate the conduct of directors of insolvent companies ...
How will the UK become a Net Zero-aligned Financial Centre? Last month, the UK Government announced that the UK was to be the world’s first Net Zero-aligned Financial Centre. The Institute for Government defines “net zero” as “a balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere” ...
The unquantifiable part of subjecting a dispute to the arbitration of a court is the litigation risk. We explore what those risks are and why it is essential that they should never be ignored. The cornerstones of any case should be clear, solid and documented evidence, a series of strong witnesses and in the ideal world and a juicy piece of case law (precedent) that ties it all together and gives the judge/panel a map to direct them to their decision ...
In the second part of this article, we look at the problems that can arise through the interpretation of evidence by the tribunal and look at ways to mitigate litigation risk by ensuring that the story of the case is presented as clearly as possible ...
Law 9/2022 was published in Diário da República, the Portuguese official gazette, on 11 January 2022. This new law establishes measures to support and speed up corporate restructuring processes and payment agreements. It is the result of the incorporation into Portuguese law of Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 (“Directive (EU) 2019/1023”) ...
Employment Law An examination of the case ofTelekom Research andDevelopment Sdn Bhd v Ahmad Farid Bin Abdul Rahman by the Court of Appeal Introduction The Industrial Court had ruled that the company, Telekom Research and Development Sdn Bhd (“Telekom”), had proven the misconduct against a former employee, the claimant Ahmad Farid Bin Abdul Rahman (“Ahmad”), and that the dismissal was justified ...
A question that is often asked about the parental status of female same-sex parents is: do they both have the same legal rights in relation to their child? The law changed on 6 April 2009 by virtue of sections 42 and 43 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, so that both the birth mother and her partner (referred to here for ease as the ‘non-birth mother’) can be recognised as legal parents for conceptions that took place after that date ...
This is a reminder that as of January 6, 2022, the Small Business Administration is requiring all small businesses to use a five-year period of measurement in determining their size under a revenue-based size standard. On January 6, 2020, the SBA published its final rule providing for a five-year period of measurement for determining a small business’s size under revenue-based size standards ...
This is a reminder that as of January 6, 2022, the Small Business Administration is requiring all small businesses to use a five-year period of measurement in determining their size under a revenue-based size standard. On January 6, 2020, the SBA published its final rule providing for a five-year period of measurement for determining a small business’s size under revenue-based size standards ...
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation v. Accord Healthcare, Inc., Appeal No. 2021-1070 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 3, 2022) In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s bench trial finding that claims of a pharmaceutical patent were supported by adequate written description under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) ...
The Oregon Supreme Court recently reversed a decision of the Oregon Court of Appeals and determined that the lease of a vested hydroelectric water right to the state for instream uses did not qualify as the “use of water under a hydroelectric water right” under Oregon Revised Statute 543A.305(3). WaterWatch v. Oregon Water Resources Department, 369 Or. 71 (2021) (hereafter referred to as Warm Springs Hydro, after intervenor respondent Warm Springs Hydro LLC) ...
The Oregon Supreme Court recently reversed a decision of the Oregon Court of Appeals and determined that the lease of a vested hydroelectric water right to the state for instream uses did not qualify as the “use of water under a hydroelectric water right” under Oregon Revised Statute 543A.305(3). WaterWatch v. Oregon Water Resources Department, 369 Or. 71 (2021) (hereafter referred to as Warm Springs Hydro, after intervenor respondent Warm Springs Hydro LLC) ...
