Recent developments in South Africa's legal landscape have led to confusion surrounding the grounds for appeals to the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”). In a notable case, the SCA's unanimous decision has cast doubt on the relevance of the interests of justice as a valid ground for appeal. This raises important questions about the appealability of certain decisions and the criteria for granting leave to appeal ...
In its recent judgement in Re Avanti Communications Ltd [2023] EWHC 940 (Ch) ('Avanti') the High Court decided that in some circumstances a charge can take effect as a fixed charge despite the chargor having some flexibility to dispose of assets without the consent of the charge holder. Background A charge expressed to be a fixed charge may be at risk of being re-characterised by a court as a floating charge if the charge holder fails to exercise sufficient control over the assets ...
While the unusual circumstances in the Tate Gallery case attracted plenty of press coverage for its consideration of nuisance in terms of overlooking, it is still business as usual for developers where rights of light are concerned ...
The rise in the cost of living remains a key societal concern and thus an issue for government. The purpose of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is to promote competitive markets and tackle unfair practices. On 15 May 2023 the CMA issued the report ‘Action to help contain cost of living pressures’. Regarding groceries, the report identifies that food inflation in the UK was 19.1% in March 2023, compared to general inflation at 10.1% ...
The Metaverse, retail and brand protection When first confronted with concepts such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs, it took most of us quite some time before we felt it was “safe enough” to make our first online purchase. For some, it was a case of calling a friend to find out if their experience was legitimate before taking that leap! Well, safe to say this is no longer the case ...
It would be a surprise to many, but it has been common knowledge to criminal practitioners for years, that a criminal defendant’s sentence for a crime which they have been convicted can be increased based on consideration of conduct that the jury acquitted ...
Introduction On February 1, 2023, Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette introduced and tabled in the National Assembly Bill 8 entitled An Act to improve justice efficiency and accessibility, in particular by promoting mediation and arbitration and by simplifying civil procedure in the Court of Québec1 (hereinafter the ?Bill?). The Bill makes amendments to several laws, including the Courts of Justice Act2 and the Professional Code ...
Applicability of English case law and practice The relevant provisions of the Jersey companies law are based on the UK Companies Act 1985, and are similar to the equivalent provisions in the UK Companies Act 2006 ...
In the Industrial Tribunal case of David Magro v HSBC Bank Malta plc, the applicant alleged that he had been unfairly dismissed when the defendant bank had not accepted to renew his career break, resulting in his employment being terminated. The applicant had been granted such a renewal for several years but had agreed with the Bank that the last renewal would be final, and that by a specific date, he had to either resign or return to perform his duties with the Bank ...
The UK government has proposed legislation (the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill) that would materially affect merger control for transactions of both UK and non-UK companies. This comment addresses the proposed introduction of a mandatory reporting regime as a prior step to the current merger control regime in the UK ...
The UK government has proposed legislation (Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament) that would materially affect merger control for transactions. This comment addresses the proposed changes that would be of concern to those engaged in mergers affecting local markets ...
Prejudgment interest may not come to mind when drafting a settlement agreement. But it can become a crucial issue if one settling party later sues another for misrepresentation related to the agreement and the parties disagree over which state’s prejudgment interest rules apply. States vary widely in the amount of prejudgment interest available. In some cases—as in Conway v. Planet Fitness Holdings, LLC, 101 Mass. App. Ct ...
We are pleased to announce that Emi Rowse (Igusa), partner and head of Japan Practice at Kudun and Partners, has been officially enlisted in the Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC) Panel of Arbitrators! THAC has granted Emi the THAC Empanelment Certificate, recognizing her extensive experience and expertise in the field of arbitration. At Kudun and Partners, we are committed to providing our clients with the highest quality legal services, including effective and efficient dispute resolution ...
On April 25, 2023 the President of the Russian Federation signed Decree No. 302 “On the Interim Administration of Certain Assets” (“Decree No. 302”)1, introducing a new mechanism for interim administration of certain assets in Russia (“Interim Administration”). Decree No. 302 became effective immediately on April 25, 2023. {{1.}} Grounds for and scope of Interim Administration {{1.1}}In accordance with Decree No ...
Data privacy professionals have characterized the data privacy risks associated with ChatGPT as a “nightmare.” In order to function, open artificial intelligence programs (“OpenAI”) like ChatGPT require huge amounts of data in order to learn and evolve. Where do the programmers get that data? From you and me without our knowledge or permission ...
The rules of state aid work for the implementation of public-private partnership projects and require the state, as a partner, to comply with the conditions of the transfer of budgetary resources to private partners, in order to avoid a ban on the conclusion of state contracts due to the incompatibility of state aid with economic competition. The Ministry of Economy proposed a plan to restore Ukraine with a price tag of $750 billion of budget funds ...
On April 18, 2023, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems a staggering $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit. Particularly startling about the settlement is that Dominion was valued at around $51 million as recently as 2018, meaning that the settlement resulted in a payout up to fifteen times Dominion’s value. Dominion filed the lawsuit in response to publicly broadcast statements by Fox News and its guests after the 2020 election ...
What is the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill? Many UK consumer laws originate from European law. Following the UK’s departure from the EU, the government wanted to provide legal continuity and certainty and to allow consumers to retain the benefit of such EU derived laws. This was achieved through Retained EU law, a form of domestic law, that was created to preserve the law of the UK following Brexit ...
On April 7, 2023, two federal judges in Texas and Washington State issued dueling opinions about the abortion medication Mifepristone, just hours apart. These two decisions come in the midst of growing tension about abortion laws in the United States after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision released by the Supreme Court in 2022.[i] The Texas and Washington court opinions do not help reduce the confusion among healthcare providers and residents of the United States ...
In early March, Georgia's Access to Medical Cannabis Commission finally adopted rules governing the state's low-THC oil industry. As businesses navigate this new landscape, legal questions will inevitably pop up. And lawyers, being trained to answer them, will want to address their clients' questions. But a ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court means that Georgia lawyers generally cannot ethically advise participants in this new program ...
Contents Please click on the links below to jump to the relevant section: Overview FAQ 1: Are SPV trustees in scope? FAQ 2: What about SPVs that aren’t trustees? Do you need to have a “customer” or “third party” to be in scope? FAQ 3: I do have “customers” or “third parties” ...
The full effect of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 is yet to be felt, despite it having received Royal Assent on 6 December 2022. Further rights will, however, come into force today, Monday 17 April 2023. Sections 58-59 of the Act grant three distinct rights to telecoms operators enabling them to upgrade and share apparatus ...
In the matter of Ren Ci & Ors (FSD 210 of 2022), the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands granted a stay of proceedings in favour of a HKIAC arbitration pursuant to section 4 of the Foreign Arbitral Awards Enforcement Act ...
