Last week, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority announced that they intend to sanction Østre Toten municipality with a fine of NOK 4,000,000 due to the municipality’s non-compliance with the GDPR requirements. The announced sanction follows in the wake of the Data Protection Authority’s investigation of the municipality’s IT systems after it was exposed to a fatal ransomware virus attack in January this year ...
‘A whole new planning system for England’ is what Boris Johnson was promising in his introduction to the Planning White Paper. He also took a sideswipe at the current system for providing “nowhere near enough homes in the right places” ...
Earlier this month, The Institute for Policy and Engagement at the University of Nottingham ran an in-depth virtual conference discussing the need for action on the issues surrounding predatory marriage. Speakers included Daphne Franks from the Justice for Joan campaign. Daphne’s mother Joan was married by a predator some years her junior without her family’s knowledge while suffering with dementia and despite Daphne having been appointed as her attorney ...
The appointment of provisional liquidators by the Cayman Court is a powerful and valuable tool in the right circumstances. However, in a series of recent cases, the Court has underscored the high hurdles that must be met and emphasised that an order to appoint liquidators must always be viewed as a serious step that requires a heavy and onerous evidential burden on those who seek such orders ...
The Technology and Construction Court (TCC) in Eco World - Ballymore Embassy Gardens Company Ltd v Dobler UK Ltd [2021] EWHC 2207 (TCC) enforced a liquidated damages (LDs) clause that did not allow for a proportionate reduction following partial possession of sections of a development. The TCC rejected that the clause was a penalty, and considered the argument that an invalid liquidated damages clause could still operate as a valid cap of liability ...
The National Privacy Commission (“NPC”) issued on 7 October 2021 NPC PHE Bulletin No. 21 advising the public against smishing and preventive data privacy practices. Smishing targets victims through mobile text messaging or SMS. Individuals usually receive unsolicited messages that include links that redirect to fraudulent websites which steal personal data, introduce mobile malware, and even facilitate the commission of fraud ...
On 05 October 2021, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (“BSP”) issued Circular Letter (“CL”) No. 2021-72, disseminating to all BSP-Supervised Financial Institutions (“BSFIs”) the AMLC Regulatory Issuance (“ARI”) No. 6-2021 on the final extension of the deadline for compliance with the Guidelines on Digitalization of Customer Records (“DIGICUR”). ARI No ...
In a major change for arbitration in Dubai, the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre has been abolished. On 14 September 2021, Decree No. 34 of 2021 (Decree No. 34) was issued by Mohammed bin Rashed Al-Maktoom, Ruler of Dubai. It not only dissolves the Dubai International Financial Centre Arbitration Institution (DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre), but also the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre (EMAC) ...
Marks & Spencer breached a court order to enforce a “keep-open” provision in one of its leases, when it carried on business only in a “half-hearted” manner ...
Freeports are obviously of immediate interest to importers, exporters, and manufacturers, as they allow the import of materials and manufacture or incorporation of those materials into items which are then exported, all without incurring tariffs and with minimal regulation. The government’s stated objectives in establishing Freeports were to establish national hubs for global trade and investment across the UK, promote regeneration and job creation and create hotbeds for innovation ...
It is imperative that companies with government contracts, or those receiving federal grant funding, ensure that they have adequate cybersecurity protocols in place. The announcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the Cyber Fraud Initiative strongly signals its intent to be aggressive in holding government contractors with lax cybersecurity standards and controls accountable ...
Predatory or forced marriages faced by individuals (usually elderly) whose mental capacity is in doubt or who are vulnerable to undue influence remain an open wound for many families. As things stand, an unscrupulous individual can engineer a marriage to a vulnerable person, by-passing any possible dispute about a will, meaning the predator gains the entire estate with no legal redress for disappointed beneficiaries or concerned family members ...
Author(s) Senior Partner, Nishant Menon and Associate, Nikhil Bhatia The Supreme Court of India on 6th August 2021 in Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC v Future Retail Limited & Others handed down a seminal decision in relation to enforcement of an Emergency Arbitrator’s (“EA”) award. The ruling has great significance as it furthers India’s mission of being a pro-arbitration State where there is greater ease of doing business ...
In our previous article, we reported that the court had refused to frustrate a tenancy agreement due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social disruption: The Center (76) Limited v Victory Serviced Office (HK) Limited HCA 1020/2020; [2020] HKCFI 2881. In this article, we will discuss several recent decisions on the same subject. The tenants’ arguments in all of these cases, that their payment obligations were discharged/suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, failed ...
Dear valued clients, colleagues and friends, We are pleased to bring you the September 2021 issue of our quarterly Newsletter, we hope that you will continue to find its contents of value to you. In this issue’s Front Page Focus, Caitlin Tan Hui Yi, associate from our Dispute Resolution Practice Group, discusses the disqualification of solicitors in the Court of Appeal case of Dato’ Azizan bin Abdul Rahman v Pinerains Sdn Bhd ...
Dear valued clients, colleagues and friends,We are pleased to bring you the latest legal updates for October 2021.Employment & Administrative LawDeed of Settlement, Termination and Release Upheld as Cessation of Employment by Mutual AgreementIn the recent case of Christopher Dass a/l Muniandy @ Mathew v Clasquin (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd dated 3 August 2021 (Award No ...
Energy drink giant Red Bull recently received some negative press for issuing a cease and desist letter to Norwich-based gin maker Bullards for the use of the word ‘bull’ in its brand name. The case is a useful reminder that brand owners should make sure that their brand protection strategy reflects the organisation’s wider brand values ...
The Technology and Construction Court (TCC) in Quadro Services Ltd v Creagh Concrete Products Ltd [2021] EWHC 2637 (TCC) held that a claim referred to adjudication with three separate payment applications was still considered a single dispute for the purposes of adjudication. The adjudicator therefore did have jurisdiction to consider all three payment applications to determine the sum due, and the adjudicator’s decision was enforced ...
In Blu-Sky Solutions Ltd v Be Caring Ltd [2021] EWHC 2619 (Comm) the High Court in England held that a supplier's standard terms and conditions ("T&Cs") are incorporated into a contract by reference if the contract provides that, upon signing the contract, the customer accepts that it has reviewed and agreed to the relevant T&Cs ...
Re Piedmont Trust and the Riviera Trust [2021] JRC 248 (Royal Court of Jersey, Commissioner Birt, Jurats Ramsden and Olsen, 5 October 2021) The Court held that the protector will usually be entitled and required to form his or her own judgment on a trustee’s decision and whether to consent to it or veto it, rather than simply review whether the trustee’s decision has been reached properly ...
Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division gave an address to the Jersey International Family Law Conference on 8 October 20211. With three years of his term remaining, he set out two areas where he intends on devoting additional time. The first is ‘transparency’ in the Family Court and the second is the resolution of Private Law disputes between parents regarding the care arrangements for their children after separating ...
Since 1 October 2021, the requirements for prepacked for direct sale food labelling changed, offering increased protection to the estimated one in four people with food allergies in the UK. What is PPDS? Prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) is food that is: presented to the consumer in packaging; packaged before the consumer selects or orders it; and packaged at the same place it is sold ...
Twenty months in, Covid-19 continues to demand that we exercise flexibility and adaptation as it identifies winners and losers. The pandemic has had a significant impact on the practice of law and businesses that are involved in, or contemplating, litigation. Those who have been involved in litigation know that it can be expensive in “normal” times. Here are three ways the pandemic has impacted the costs associated with litigation. Time to trial ...
Kannuu Pty Ltd. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Appeal No. 2021-1638 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 7, 2021) In our Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit addressed whether a forum selection clause in an NDA may prohibit a party from petitioning for an inter partes review with the PTAB. Kannuu filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, asking the district court to compel Samsung to withdraw their petitions. The district court denied the motion, and Kannuu appealed ...
