As Nigeria joins the rest of the world in grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic (“the pandemic”), the Federal Government has declared a curfew in the Federal Capital Territory and two other major States as well as restricting interstate travel. Prior to this, several organizations had commenced remote working as precautionary measures against the spread of the virus ...
Summary On 29 January 2020 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) gave its ruling in the long-awaited case C-371/18 Sky v SkyKick. The judgment provides for two key findings. First, it confirms that a trademark cannot be declared invalid on the grounds that the terms used to designate the goods/services lack clarity and precision ...
Key Points A federal district judge has invalidated the Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 12 for failure to comply with the Endangered Species Act, in response to a case filed against the notorious Keystone XL pipeline. As a result of the decision, the Army Corps has halted new and pending approvals under the permit, which is required for construction projects that will discharge dredged or fill material into waters of the United States ...
Key Points: Face coverings are now mandatory for most workers in six Bay Area counties. These orders apply to those working in proximity to others and in areas frequented by the public, and to all essential infrastructure workers. There are immediate implications for public agencies, contractors, and construction project owners ...
On 22 April 2020, the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (the "MCCAA") published a consultation regarding a Bill to amend the Consumer Affairs Act (Chapter 378 of the laws of Malta) and other Laws, and to make ancillary and consequential provisions thereto ...
Key Points: An executive order from the governor's office modifies California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") noticing procedures, requiring local agencies to take extra steps to notify the public that environmental review processes are underway or have concluded for development projects. Extra steps include posting notices on agency websites and active outreach to interested parties ...
On April 27, 2020, members of the Ohio House of Representatives released the Open Ohio Responsibly Framework. This framework contains recommended guidelines for opening Ohio businesses beginning on or before May 1, 2020, after weeks of business closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic ...
After the nearly $350 billion in funds allocated to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the CARES Act were depleted in mid-April, Congress has approved an additional $310 billion in funds for the program. These additional funds arrive after a wave of backlash over certain businesses, such as national chains, received PPP loans ...
On April 26, 2020, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance to add six new symptoms of COVID-19. Based on this update, individuals should be cognizant of the new symptoms while self-monitoring for COVID-19 and employers should update their employee health screening procedures ...
World: The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted all destinations worldwide to introduce restrictions on travel, research by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has found. This represents the most severe restriction on international travel in history and no country has so far lifted restrictions introduced in response to the crisis. Following up on previous research, the latest data from the United Nations specialised agency for tourism shows that 100% of destinations now have restrictions in place ...
The COVID-19 spread in Indonesia has caused several institutions in Indonesia to make certain adjustments, including in to hearings in district courts. On 23 March 2020, the Supreme Court issued Circular Letter No. 1 of 2020 on Guidance for the Implementation of Work during the Prevention of the Spread of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) within the Supreme Court and the other Courts, as was later amended by Circular Letter No ...
President Joko Widodo has finally declared the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) a National Disaster under Presidential Decree No. 12 of 2020 (“PD 12/2020”) which was issued on Monday, 13 April 2020. Through PD 12/2020, the President has strengthened the role of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana/ “BNPB”) as the COVID-19 Task Force (Gugus Tugas Percepatan Penanganan Coronavirus 2019) ...
On 10 April 2020 was promulgated new Regulation in Slovakia due to economic mobilization measures. The Government Regulation was adopted to announce specific extraordinary regulatory measures and measures concerning civilian duty and material performance in connection with the emergency situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Regulation of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 77/2020 Coll ...
The United States Supreme Court recently held that a plaintiff need not show that a defendant willfully infringed the plaintiff's trademark as a requirement for recovering the defendant’s profits.Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil Grp., Inc., No. 18-1233, 2020 U.S. LEXIS 2408, at *12-13 (U.S. Apr. 23, 2020). Romag Fasteners, Inc. sued Fossil, Inc ...
Supreme Court's Order No. 13/2020: Extension of the extraordinary judicial recess. Within the state of sanitary emergency declared regarding COVID-19 and the mandatory social, preventive isolation measure duly decreed, the Supreme Court has adopted different measures within the National Judicial Branch, consistent with the National Executive Branch provisions and the recommendations of the national sanitary authority. In order to align with Decree No ...
On April 16, 2020, by means of Resolution CRA 915 of 2020, the Commission for the Regulation of Water and Basic Sanitation established transitory regulatory measures for the deferred payment of invoices for domestic water and sewerage services and public sanitation services, within the framework of the emergency declared by the National Government due to COVID-19 ...
Superior Council of the Judicial Branch extended suspension of procedural terms and deadlines until May 10th, with initial exceptions and some others. Agreement PCSJA20-11546 April 25, 2020 The Superior Council of the Judicial Branch extended the suspension of procedural deadlines until May the 10th, with certain exceptions: Constitutional (tutela) and Habeas Corpus actions*. The ones related to fundamental rights of life, health and personal freedom, are prioritized ...
Introduction In light of cessation of routine judicial activities in recent times on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, the decision of the High Court at New Delhi on April 20, 2020 in Halliburton Offshore Services Limited vs. Vedanta Limited and Anothercomes asa welcome breather in an area otherwise seemingly parched for development of case law ...
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic crisis—infecting more than 2.7 million people worldwide, with almost 870,000 cases in the United States alone as of the writing of this article—has thrown nearly every industry into chaos as the world struggles to adjust to the new reality of social distancing and self-quarantining ...
Governor Justice has issued his plan for the scaling back of his “stay-at-home” Executive Order, otherwise known as “reopening the state.” The plan hinges on having three consecutive days where the statewide cumulative percentage of positive COVID-19 test results stays below 3 percent. Once that metric is met, there will be a phased reopening process that is optional to businesses – the plan stresses it is allowing entities to open, NOT requiring them to ...
It is evident that the current lockdown is having an unprecedented slowdown in the movement of persons between EU Member States. This is not due to a restriction which was imposed by the EU itself but because of the restrictions which the Member States themselves imposed through their respective Public Health officials. It is noticeable that the legal restrictions on immigration were driven by the Member States' individual rules rather than by a general guideline from the EU ...
With the number of cases continuing to increase exponentially on a daily basis, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) has now been determined a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has affected at least 213 countries across the world. On 2 March 2020, the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo announced the country’s first confirmed case ...
On April 23, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released new guidance that permits employers to test employees for COVID-19. In an update to its publication, “What You Should Know about COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and other EEO Laws,”[1] the EEOC advised that an employer “may choose to administer COVID-19 testing to employees before they enter the workplace to determine if they have the virus ...
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act allocated $100 billion to the United States Health and Human Services Department (“HHS”) to provide financial relief for eligible health care providers. The first $30 billion of what is now known as the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund was released earlier in April. This initial wave was allocated among providers in proportion to their 2019 Medicare fee-for-service payments ...
Key Points A discharge of pollutants to groundwater may require a permit under the Clean Water Act. The new “functional equivalent of a direct discharge” test will be difficult to apply. It will be a long and arduous process to reach uniformity as agencies, courts, and the regulated community try to figure out how to proceed on a case-by-case basis. On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court published its much-awaited opinion in County of Maui v ...
