July was a busy month for the FCA in publishing guidance, policy and rules which have a significant impact on a firm’s relationships with its senior managers and staff. On 30 June, and towards the beginning of the “crypto winter”, Sarah Pritchard, Executive Director of Markets at the FCA gave a speech to the City UK Annual Conference entitled “Finding Opportunity in a World of Uncertainty” ...
The U.S. Government Accountability Office issued its annual bid protest report on Nov. 1.[1] This year's report is noteworthy because it shows that protesters received some form of relief from the procuring agency in more than half of the protests filed with the GAO in fiscal year 2022 ...
ESG The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) ran its Sustainable Finance Week in September and announced three initiatives that came into force from 20 September. The Natural Capital Fund Regime was launched and allows a regulatory designation for biodiversity and natural capital projects that positively contribute and/or reduce harm to the natural world. The regime has arguably more stringent criteria than those for the Guernsey Green Fund Regime ...
On 28 October 2022, the State Administration Council (“SAC”) enacted the Organization Registration Law (“ORL”) via Notification No.46/2022 as per the Section 419 of the Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar The ORL will repeal the former Association Registration Law 2014 (“ARL”) enacted through the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No. 31/2014 that was subsequently implemented by the Rules Relating to the Registration of Associations on 5 June 2015 ...
In March 2022, the Oregon legislature passed House Bill (HB) 4002, which imposes new overtime pay requirements for agricultural workers beginning on January 1, 2023. The bill also establishes a refundable tax credit for eligible employers to help offset all or part of the additional wage expenses attributed to overtime pay ...
Overall, West Virginia’s mid-term election easily can be described as a Red Wave rising, with historic GOP wins in legislative races. At the same time, voters remained cautious when it came to policy decisions, soundly rejecting all four constitutional amendments on the ballot in spite of strong support from the Republican Party and business community. That dichotomy likely will puzzle election watchers for a while ...
Asters' Counsel and pro bono legal advisor of the Committee on Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Development of the European Business Association (EBA) Anzhelika Livitska contributed to EBA White Paper "Deregulation of environmental legislation in a time of war and reforms aimed for European integration" ...
In our final quarterly case law update of 2022, we discuss four of the most significant employment law cases since August 2022 and the lessons that employers should take from them. Whistleblowing In the case of Kong v Gulf International Bank, Ms Kong made protected disclosures to the Head of Legal, Ms Harding ...
Summary: On October 28, 2022, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement by prohibiting the award of any DoD contract to entities that require their employees to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements that would restrict their employees from lawfully reporting waste, fraud, or abuse related to the performance of a DoD contract to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative who is authorized
On October 21, 2022, the IRS announced in Notice 2022-55 cost-of-living adjustments to the tax-qualified retirement plan dollar limits for 2023. Most of the applicable dollar limits currently effective for 2022 will increase substantially compared with prior years. Below is a summary of the limits that are generally relevant for most retirement plans. Effective January 1, 2023: The elective deferral limit for 401(k), 403(b), and eligible 457(b) plans is increased from $20,500 to $22,500 ...
President Joko Widodo has just issued Presidential Regulation No. 112 of 2022 on the Acceleration of Renewable Energy Development for the Supply of Power which came into effect on 13 September 2022. The PR on Renewable Energy introduces key major provisions which may significantly affect the electric power industry, especially with the phasing out of coal-fired power plants, and urges prioritizing the development of renewable energy power plants. These advisory highlights the key provisions ...
Uniloc USA, Inc. v. Motorola Mobility LLC, Appeal Nos 2021-1555, -1795 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 4, 2022) Our Case of the Week is ostensibly a case about whether a patent owner has standing to sue when that patent holder has granted an exclusive license. But the case turns on the application of collateral estoppel, when Uniloc, the patent owner, dismissed an appeal against Apple in an unrelated suit concerning the same facts. The case sounds like a cautionary tale about dismissing cases on appeal ...
Making variations to planning permissions as a scheme evolves is rarely a straightforward process, particularly where the changes go beyond the scope of non-material or minor material amendments. One tool that has been used extensively to achieve variations is the ‘drop-in’ planning application where a new consent is granted for an area that overlaps with the original permission ...
Shoosmiths’ specialist construction and regulatory teams have provided a detailed response to the government’s consultation on implementing the new building control regime for higher-risk buildings under Part 3 of the Building Safety Act 2022. The firm’s response draws on its expertise working with key stakeholders in the construction industry and first-hand experience of the issues that are relevant to the proposed regulations ...
The SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert on September 19, 2022 announcing examination initiatives relating to Advisers Act Rule 206(4)-1 – the “Marketing Rule.” The compliance date for the Marketing Rule is November 4, 2022. Any advertisements distributed by investment advisers on or after that date are subject to the requirements of the Marketing Rule. This alert outlines areas that will be reviewed during examinations ...
Tackling base erosion and profit shifting remains a priority for the National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”). It was recently reported that in the 2021 fiscal year, SARS dealt with 345 cases of transfer pricing, base erosion and profit shifting to the value of almost ZAR12-billion. Yet, only three South African courts have dealt with transfer pricing ...
Under Notice 2022-33, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has extended the deadline for adopting amendments to qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to reflect certain changes made by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act), the Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019 (Miners Act), and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) ...
On 7 October 2022, Federal Law No. 377-FZ (the “Law”) came into force. The Law granted mobilized citizens and their family members the right to receive preferential payment holidays on loans (including mortgages). Follow the link to learn more. Newsletter_Payment_holidays_for_mobilized_citizens.pdf (alrud ...
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is currently making its way through Parliament but what do we currently know about the Bill, which may have an impact on over 2,400 pieces of legislation on the UK statute books? You may be forgiven for not spotting the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (or the Brexit Freedoms Bill as it is affectionately known) slip in front of the House of Commons on 22 September 2022 as all eyes were on Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini budget at the time
You may have seen news items discussing a South African copyright case that deals with blind people’s rights to access books. It’s perhaps not that easy to follow, so we’ll try to make it as simple as possible. South African copyright law has been slow to evolve The South African Copyright Act dates back to 1978 ...
State securities regulators from Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas, and Alabama have issued cease and desist orders against Slotie, a Metaverse casino developer located in the country of Georgia. Regulators allege that the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) Slotie offers to investors are securities and that the ongoing sale of these NFTs constitute an ongoing unregistered issuance of securities ...
In October, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) brought charges against Kim Kardashian (“Kardashian”) for failure to disclose payments she received in connection with promoting EthereumMax on Instagram. This article outlines why public persons and projects operating in the web3 ecosystem must tread carefully so as to not implicate unwelcome regulatory oversight ...
