On 1 January 2020, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will introduce its revised rules and trade terms governing global freight transport. The Incoterms rules were first introduced by the ICC in 1936 to “establish commonly accepted definitions and rules related to the sale of goods between trading partners worldwide”, and now facilitate international trade valued in the trillions of dollars each year ...
Over the past years, the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/ Head of the National Land Agency (“Minister”) has issued several regulations on location permits due to the progressive system established by the government for the efficiency of investments and licensing. After the Online Single Submission (“OSS”) system became applicable, the Minister issued Regulation No ...
The False Claims Act (“FCA”) is one of the most powerful anti-fraud weapons available to the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”). It permits treble damages and makes penalties available for each false claim the defendant submitted to a federal payor. The DOJ effectively deployed the FCA against mortgage lenders in the aftermath of the sub-prime lending crisis to obtain, in some cases, billion-dollar settlements ...
Amid the noise, vitriol and spectacle, the real debate that we need to have about climate change has been drowned out. In the past few weeks, I have followed with much interest a Swedish child activist’s barely concealed yearning for the Nobel Peace Prize. Sadly, Greta Thunberg, famous for her tirades on climate change, did not win the award, despite her widely watched zero-emission Atlantic crossing in a hydro- and solar-powered yacht to address the UN General Assembly ...
Part 5 of the Environment Bill, contains a number of disparate proposals relating to water – which could have major implications for many. Senior associate Joanne Sear and solicitor Grace Mitchell take a look at some of the key points in the Bill. Water resources planning According to its explanatory notes, the Bill is intended to “improve… water resources planning” and “facilitate… collaborative regional planning” ...
In order to improve mortgage services to achieve among other targets, disclosure, punctuality, simplicity and affordability as well as to adapt them to the development of laws, technology and public needs, the government has issued Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/ Head of the National Land Agency (“MOA”) Regulation No ...
On 7 August 2019 a new UN convention was signed in Singapore by 46 countries, the "UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation", also known as the Singapore Convention. The Singapore Convention applies to international settlement agreements resulting from mediation and aims to be an instrument for international trade to facilitate and promote mediation as an alternative method of resolving trade disputes ...
Activists and government leaders are sounding the death knell for our planet unless something is done about climate change. But while sustainability is important, sustainability reporting may not be the answer. In a headline-hogging speech at the UN last month, 16-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg berated politicians and business people for doing too little to arrest climate change, ruining the globe for future generations. High-profile scandals back up her claim ...
What’s happened? After much media coverage regarding the potential change in the law concerning properties owned in common in Dubai, Law 6 of 2019 was introduced on 4 September 2019 (the New Law). The New Law is an important development for Dubai as most real estate is held by way of property owned in common. That is, a real estate development that has been subdivided into apartments, offices, retail units and/or common areas ...
An Update in the World of Workplace Safety MSHA Civil Penalties On August 16, 2019, the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a report on MSHA’s civil monetary penalties (“CMP”) program ...
On September 11, 2019, the House of Representatives approved the Law on Integral Waste Management. This project, which was submitted in June 2018 by the Executive Branch, presents a new scenario in this area with important changes for all actors and operators. The guiding purpose of the law is the minimization of waste generation through the search for efficiency in production processes, encouraging subsidiary reuse and recovery through recycling ...
On the 21st of August 2019 Notification dated 21 August 2019 the General Department of Taxation (“GDT“) issued Notification 17517 GDT on the Second Reminder of the Payment of the Property Tax reminding owners of immovable property to file their annual Property Tax declaration before the deadline of 30 September 2019 ...
The Association of Fire Prevention Enterprises of Cambodia (“AFPE”) in conjunction with the National Quality Inspection Centre for fire Safety Systems (“NICS”) hosted a seminar on 9 September 2019 on the introduction of the National Standard Book on Fire Safety Systems – Building Design Code ...
The information in this article is based on new regulations issued by the City of San Francisco, and supersedes the article published in early June of this year. San Francisco has recently enacted the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA), a law that provides San Francisco nonprofits with the right to purchase apartment buildings of three or more units before they are put on the market ...
The Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment of 16 November 2001 (the the “CTC”) and its Protocol on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment has since its adaption in 2001 grown to be the overruling legal framework in the aviation industry, providing banks, airlines and leasing companies with an international unified regime on acknowledgement and enforcement of security interests in aircraft ...
The High Court of Justice held that travel agents are not permitted to sell insurance products for outside of Israel. This is in accordance with the decision of the Ministry of Finance’s Commissioner of Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings. In July 2019, the High Court of Justice rendered its decision in the matter 2969/19 The Israel Association of Travel Agencies and Consultants v. The Commissioner of the Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings Authority ...
Frithjof Herlofsen of Simonsen Vogt Wiig successfully represented an Italian shipowner in a loss of hire cover dispute against Gard. The rushed response of the Nordic Plan Revision Committee to include "Anti-Hamburg" wording in the revised 2019 Commentary to the Nordic Plan raise several concerns. Overview ...
On September 1, 2019, AB2342 and its new timing requirements for issuing certain eviction notices and for answering eviction lawsuits go into effect in California. AB2343 amends California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 1161(2) and (3) regarding 3-day notices to pay or quit and 3-day notices based on neglect or failure to perform other conditions or covenants of the lease or agreement ...
The Association Des Hoteliers et Restaurateurs Ile Maurice (“AHRIM”), an association of hotels and restaurants in Mauritius, and the Sea Users Association, an association of civilians, recently won an important appeal. The appeal was against the grant of an Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) licence to a fish farming project by the Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity, and Environment and Sustainable Development ...
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the Carbon Tax Act, 2019, which comes into effect on 1 June 2019. With the passing of the carbon tax into law, a price on carbon emissions is now a reality for the South African economy.The impact of the legislation, along with complementary measures such as the national greenhouse gas emission reporting regulations, will have a transformative effect on the South African economy ...
As the first of several deadlines under the Qualified Opportunity Zone (“QOZ”) program rapidly approaches, investors still on the sidelines are discovering that time is running out on the ability to take advantage of the full suite of tax benefits under the program. December 31, 2019 marks the last day in which investors may roll over capital gains into Qualified Opportunity Funds (“QOF”) and obtain a 15% reduction in the amount of the deferred gain ...
