As a result of its climate, Spain enjoys a strategic position within the European Union for theproduction of renewable energy, hence its long-standing commitment over the years to promoteresearch and development in such energy sources ...
1. How can the government’s attitude and approach to internet issues best be described? The attitude of the Belgian government can be described as positive and their approach is proactive. In 2003, the Belgian authorities announced the introduction of ‘egovernment’ ...
The European Parliament recently passed the Alternative Investment Funds Directive («AIFMD»). The AIFMD is focused on managers rather than investment funds and will implement broad regulatory measures on both fund managers located within the European Union («EU») and those established outside of the EU that provide asset management services to European alternative investment funds. The Swiss fund industry will have to closely examine the details of the AIFMD ...
Overview of the lending market 1. Please give a brief overview of the main trends and important developments in the lending market in your jurisdiction in the last 12 months. On 27 April 2010, Parliament abolished certain restrictions introduced by the Law On Amendments to certain Ukrainian laws to overcome the negative consequences of the financial crisis ...
In the second of a two-part look at issues arising out of the tender process we consider what can happen when that process is poorly run. Part 1 of the series can be found at IT tendering: Leveraging the benefits. A typical tender process involves the customer analysing and documenting its requirements in a Request for Proposals (RFP) to which interested suppliers will prepare a response ...
By Vitas Vasiliauskas, Associate Partner of the law firm LAWIN Lideika, Petrauskas, Valiûnas ir partneriai In December 2010, the most important legislative acts on taxation to be enacted in 2011 were publicised ...
In a recent case by the Swedish Supreme Court (Sw. Högsta domstolen) (T 4904-08), the burden of proof of payments made by the debtor in relation to a negotiable promissory note was placed on the creditor.Since the borrowers had not confirmed that the debt had not been paid, the transferees were not in good faith in relation to the payment of the debt ...
As of 1 August 2010, two new pieces of legislation governing payment services came into force; the payment Services Act (Sw. Lag (2010:751) om betaltjänster) and the Act on Unauthorised Transactions with Payment Instruments (Sw. Lag (2010:738) om obehöriga transaktioner med betalningsinstrument) ...
A new Consumer Credit Act (Sw. Konsumentkreditlagen (2010:1846)) came into effect on 1 January 2011. The Act implements the Consumer Credit Directive (Directive 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on credit agreements for consumers and repealing Council Directive 87/102/EEC). The Directive’s purpose is to enhance consumer protection by addressing some of the indebtedness problems caused by text message loans (Sw ...
Until now, several of the provisions of the Credit Information Act (Sw. Kreditupplysningslagen (1973:1173)) that protects the integrity of individuals were not applicable when credit information was shared on the Internet. The reason for this was that such information was protected by the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (Sw. Yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen (1991:1469)) ...
In a recent article we looked at some of the employment risks for customers associated with cloud computing. Following on from Cloud computing: Employment law implications, we now consider how best to assess the other risks associated with cloud computing ...
The purpose of legal privilege is that companies must be able to obtain legal advice without the risk of having to submit sensitive communication with a lawyer to an authority, such as the Swedish Competition Authority or a court of law during litigation ...
Many companies know that the Public Procurement Act (Sw. abbr. LOU) regulates how contracting authorities act when purchasing supplies, services and public works. However, something less well known is that the provisions in LOU can also be of significant importance for how a public contract is handled after the procurement has ended and that the provisions in LOU can apply in completely different contexts, e.g. in conjunction with mergers, acquisitions and similar transactions ...
A new version of the well-known International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Incoterms® becomes effective on 1 January 2011. EXW, FCA, DDP, FOB and CIP – are some of the three-letter abbreviations of Incoterms® commonly found in sales and delivery agreements around the world ...
On 1 December, the Swedish Parliament resolved on the delayed legislative amendments to the Swedish Companies Act which, among other things, concern the mode of convening general meetings, on which we reported in previous newsletters (October 2009 and June 2010). The new rules take effect on 1 January 2011 ...
In Sweden, the directive has been implemented through amendments to the Medical Devices Act (1993:584), and through the regulation which the Medical Products Agency has issued in connection with this Act and the directive. The revised directive contains some clarifications but also some news ...
What are collateral warranties and why are they needed? Collateral warranties have been a common feature of building and engineering projects for many years now, yet to many they remain a mystery. There are many legal and commercial rationales for collateral warranties, which can be summarised as: Marketability of the project – if a robust collateral warranty package is not in place then this can lead tenants and purchasers to seek other commercial concessions ...
Public Service Review – Local Government and the Regions Recession breeds new rules and a new approach to procurement The recession and the need for public sector budget cuts have uncovered a twin track for procurement policy in the UK. There is a clear need to cut public sector expenditure – of that we can be in no doubt both in terms of the unit cost of supplies and services ...
The word litigation usually strikes fear into the hearts of the business community. Litigation can be time-consuming and expensive. Badly-managed litigation is a very painful experience indeed. Managing litigation risk is therefore of huge importance for businesses. But the challenge doesn’t start at the Court door ...
KSB partner Martin Šolc, who specializes in advisory on transactions in the field of mergers and acquisitions, has also been performing professional activities for a long time with the International Bar Association (IBA), a leading organization of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies, bringing together more than forty thousand attorneys and one hundred and ninety-seven chambers of attorneys on all continents ...
Due to the effects of the recent economic crisis, the need arose to make it easier for insolvent companies to continue their business through a restructuring. Up until now there has been the Bankruptcy Act (Konkursordnung – KO) alongside with the Composition Act (Ausgleichsordnung - AO) in Austria ...
Introduction From the seller's perspective, knowing the outcome of the sale process in terms of the price that it will obtain for a company is always of great importance. Usually, a buyer will make an offer to buy a company on a 'cash and debt-free' basis, meaning that the purchase price offered (ie, the enterprise value) will be adjusted up or down depending on the company's financial position at a given time to reach the actual purchase price ...
High Noon for the planning system chimed on 28 October with the publication of the White Paper "Local Growth: Realising Every Place's Potential". The DCLG Business Plan 2011-2015 followed with a timetable for implementation. If brought forward in their current form, the White Paper's proposals will dramatically change the dynamic of the planning framework ...
