In June of 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held in American Hospital Association v. Becerra that the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) overstepped their statutory authority when cutting 340B-related reimbursements to hospitals from 2018 through 2022 ...
The UK government has recently proposed new regulations to strengthen security measures for data centres operating in the UK. The new regulations aim to protect data centre facilities against potential disruption, including cyber-attacks, physical threats, and extreme weather events ...
January 2, 2024 By: Braeden Mansouri and Alicia Guerra The California Legislature’s laser focus on addressing the state housing crisis did not subside during the 2023 legislative session. While legislators proposed over 150 housing bills, only a fraction of those bills were approved by both chambers. Still, Governor Gavin Newsom signed 56 housing bills into law ...
Another great year for the Ocean team at SVW has ended. The Shipping industry had a great year, as we have witnessed it through our clients’ engagements. More steps have been taken toward environmentally smarter investments by many clients, not only within the fuel engine options in new-building orders, but also piloting strategic joint ventures and collaborations in the fuel terminals infrastructure (hydrogen/ammonia), as well as power plants ...
Climate and environment In November 2023, SVW assisted Greenpeace and Nature and Youth Norway in a new climate case before the District Court of Oslo. The plaintiffs challenge the validity of three new oil field approvals on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and ask for a temporary injunction ...
****Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,**** We would like to update you on recent precedent-setting judgements by Russian courts in matters involving foreign businesses that decided to leave Russia. On 17 October 2023, the Arbitrazh court of Moscow city sustained the claim by Russian bank PJSC Sovkombank against Citibank N.A. (a US company) and its Russian subsidiary JSC KB Citibank concerning the joint recovery of US$24m in losses1. On 21 December 2023, an appeals court upheld the judgement ...
On November 17, 2023, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill 4516, amending General Obligation Law Section 5-336 (GOL 5-336). As set forth in our earlier alert from when the law was first enacted, Section 5-336 limited employers’ use of nondisclosure provisions in agreements releasing claims involving sexual harassment ...
The U.S. Department of State has released details on a proposed pilot program testing the agency’s ability to resume domestic visa renewals for certain nonimmigrant visa categories and to study the effect the program has on reducing visa wait times worldwide. The program will begin on January 29, 2024 and end on April 1, 2024 ...
Please note the following press release. This press release is available at our homepage. Hertha BSC restructuring with Heuking A challenging year for Hertha BSC is coming to an end. The Berlin-based team was forced to reorganize and restructure in particular due to business constraints and in view of its relegation to Bundesliga 2, Germany’s second division of professional soccer. Led by Dr ...
On the 1st of August 2023, Bill No. 63 entitled the Air Navigation Act (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”) was published in the Supplement to the Government Gazette. The proposed Act has reached the stage of the Third Reading and shall repeal the Civil Aviation (Air Operators’ Certificates) Act (Chapter 218 of the Laws of Malta), the Air Navigation Order (Subsidiary Legislation 499 ...
On 18 January 2019, the Supreme People's Court and the Department of Justice of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region jointly signed theArrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters between the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(the "New Arrangement"). In Hong Kong, the New Arrangement was meant to be implemented via local legislation ...
Many charities occupy property, whether as offices, shops or for other charitable purposes from hospices to food banks ...
Article 319(1) of the UAE Civil Procedure Law authorises an execution judge to imprison a debtor who fails to satisfy a judgment debt, unless the debtor is able to prove that he is insolvent. Although the text of Article 319(1) places the burden of proving insolvency on the judgment debtor, this appears to have been reversed following a decision of the General Assembly of the Dubai Court of Cassation issued in October 2023 ...
Introduction Block exemption regulations (BER) for liner shipping companies have been in place in one form or another since 1986, originally as «Conference» BER, and since 2008 as «Consortia» BER. With the discontinuation, the liner shipping segment joins other shipping segments as fully subject to the competition rules in the EU, including the prohibition against anti-competitive cooperation under Article 101 TFEU ...
Renewable energy projects affecting the environment, such as wind and solar projects, currently require multiple permits from different authorities, which may make the permitting processes rather burdensome and unpredictable. To tackle this, the government is looking to streamline and standardize the permitting process by developing a "one stop shop" in order to boost new investments in Finland and make the processes more predictable ...
A REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE (AMENDMENT) ACT 2023 INTRODUCTION The Evidence Act (Amendment) Act 2023 (the Amended Act) was signed into Law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the 12th day of June 2023. The Amended Act was aimed at amending the provisions of the Evidence Act 2011 (the Principal Act) to be in conformity with global technological advancements in evidence taking and its applicability covers all judicial proceedings before Courts in Nigeria ...
THE BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REGISTER: IMPLEMENTING THE FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE’S RECOMMENDATIONS ON MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORISM FINANCING IN NIGERIA INTRODUCTION Section 119 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (“CAMA”) 2020, in conjunction with the Persons with Significant Control Regulations (“PSC Regulations”) 2022, requires companies, Limited Liability Partnerships (“LLPs”), and by extension, foreign exempted companies under
Introduction The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (“MARPOL” or the “Convention”) was promoted by the International Maritime Organisation (“IMO”). It was adopted on the 2nd of November 1973 to tackle the menace of marine pollution by oil, chemicals, and other hazardous materials from ships through operational or accidental causes ...
The government has produced draft regulations which will make further changes to holiday laws in Great Britain. We look at what is planned and what it means for employers. The government has been reviewing which European Union laws to retain and has taken that opportunity to consult about changes to holiday pay, resulting in the publication of draft regulations. We look at what is planned and what it means for employers ...
It is highly documented that the transport sector is heavily male dominated. Indeed, reports suggest that while women account for 47% of the general UK workforce, within the transport sector women only account for 20% of the workforce and only 3% of HGV drivers in the UK. Many employers are aware of the work that needs to be done in this sector in terms of addressing and challenging behaviours, changing mindsets and creating inclusive cultures ...
The UAE’s arbitration landscape continues to evolve and, as 2023 draws to a close, we summarise some of the more significant judgments issued by the UAE on-shore Courts in relation to arbitration this year. While the trend of the judgments reinforces the ‘arbitration-friendly’ approach of the UAE Courts of late, 2023 has not been without its outlier cases ...
The timing of challenges to an expert witness’s evidence has been considered in the Supreme Court case of Tui Ltd v Griffiths [2023] UKSC 48, with judgment handed down on 29 November 2023. Although the case emanated from a holiday claim in the County Court, this Supreme Court decision is of significance to all cases where parties seek to rely on evidence from experts or witnesses of fact ...
