We are pleased to introduce our Regulatory Compliance Quarterly Updates. These updates are intended to keep Maltese regulated entities informed of regulatory changes and developments taking place in the local financial services space. In this issue, we focus on the sector specific and cross-sectoral regulatory updates relating to Investment Services and Asset Management. Our first Regulatory Compliance Quarterly Update can be found here ...
The recent Argos decision has partially overturned the Bakers of Nailsea decision in relation to summary only offences and the requirements of Criminal Procedure Rules. Public prosecutions begin after an authorised body applies to the magistrates’ court for a summons alleging an offence. The rules underpinning this process are in the Criminal Procedure Rules (CrimPR) Part 7 (and associated Practice Direction). One such rule, CrimPR 7 ...
A year after Ms Maya Forstater succeeded in establishing in the Employment Appeal Tribunal that gender-critical beliefs are a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010, she has won two of her claims for direct discrimination and one claim for victimisation. Employers need to tread very carefully both to balance individual employees' rights to hold sometimes conflicting protected beliefs and to foster a culture that is truly inclusive ...
The Supreme Court has handed down its decision in the claim of Harpur Trust v Brazel, which may have a significant impact on employers of part-year workers. Background Under the Working Time Regulations (“WTR”), workers are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ annual leave and to be paid holiday pay at a rate of a week’s pay ...
Does the recent High Court decision in Butler-Sloss and Others -v- The Charity Commission and the Attorney General change the law on how charity trustees should approach investing their funds? The short answer is “no”. The decision is a reinterpretation of the 30-year-old decision in the Bishop of Oxford case for our modern world and a reinstatement of the fundamental duty of charity trustees to act in the best interests of their charities’ purposes ...
On 21 July 2022, Baroness Heather Hallett issued an opening statement in respect of the COVID-19 Inquiry ('the Inquiry'). As Chair, Baroness Hallett expressed her determination to “run the Inquiry as thoroughly and as efficiently as possible” and “to undertake and conclude the work of this Inquiry as speedily as possible so that lessons are learned before another pandemic strikes ...
Background The Malta Financial Services Authority has informed investment firms of the amendments carried out to Part BI of the investment services rules for Investment Services Providers. These amendments seek to implement the provisions of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1253 ...
Dr Christine Calleja and Dr Warren Ciantar, in collaboration with 21 Malta, delivered a one hour presentation on the new rights introduced by the Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers Regulations, on Wednesday 20th July 2022. The main rights to be introduced by the Regulations will be paid paternal leave, partly paid parental leave and unpaid carer’s leave ...
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by commercial tenants against the High Court’s summary judgment rulings ordering them to pay rent arrears notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic ...
Fostering diversity and inclusion at the recruitment stage has a beneficial impact, not least in terms of increased applications and a greater likelihood of attracting the right talent to your organisation. Here are our top tips for getting it right. Consider alternative talent pools It is well publicised that vacancies are at record highs, with currently more vacancies than people in work ...
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 On 25 July, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 of 6 April 2022 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 of the European Parliament and of the Council (“Delegated Regulation”) was published at the Official Journal of the European Union. The Delegated Regulation adopts Level 2 regulation on the sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services regulation, or SFDR, which enters into force on 1 January 2023 ...
In a ruling of 19 April 2022, the Belgian Supreme Court decided that an A1-certificate issued by a competent foreign authority to a posted worker does not exclude compliance with the DIMONA obligation. Does this mean that all foreign employers posting employees to Belgium must now file both a LIMOSA and a DIMONA declaration? This article sheds some light on the scope of the Supreme Court’s decision and the particular context in which it was taken ...
Chloe, the assistance cat, has hit the headlines of several newspapers over the past few weeks, following her owner (Mr Fenn) bringing a claim under the Equality Act 2010 against Sainsbury’s supermarkets after they refused Chloe’s entry to the store. Mr Fenn has autism; a consequence of his autism is that he experiences sensory overload in busy places such as the supermarket and he states that Chloe helps him to focus ...
Background The Malta Financial Services Authority has recently introduced changes to the investment services rulebooks for Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) management companies (ManCos) and Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs) to: (i) transpose the Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2021/1270 amending Directive 2010/43/EU (1) as regards the sustainability risks and sustainability factors to be taken into account fo
Dr Mikiel Calleja and Dr Laura Spiteri from Mamo TCV Advocates were invited by Society Education to deliver a seminar on Mergers and Acquisitions. The seminar delved into the practicalities of the mergers and acquisitions process, touching upon a number of topics including the main types of mergers and acquisitions, merger control, and the implications of foreign direct investments. The seminar was delivered virtually on the 14 July, 2022 ...
The Government has announced the dates for implementation of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022. Overseas entities with prospective or existing land holdings in the UK must plan for the impact of the Act. The Act implements plans to address hidden foreign investment in the UK as part of the government’s strategy to crack down on overseas criminals using UK property for money-laundering ...
Houst’s Restructuring Plan was sanctioned last week. It was notable because of its size, that is, the company is very small compared with the financial giants which have used the process so far - and because it used the cram-down facility to overrule HMRC in its status as a secondary preferential creditor ...
Impact on the activity of the pharmaceutical industry At the end of 2021, two laws were published to regulate the general framework for the prevention of corruption in the activity of companies: (i) Decree-Law 109-E/2021 of 9 December, which establishes the general rules for the prevention of corruption (“RGPC”) and (ii) Law 93/2021 of 20 December, which creates rules to protect whistleblowers (“RJPDI”) ...
Even though Belgium is lagging behind when it comes to enacting specific legislation, companies doing business in Belgium should be aware of the risk of being held accountable for human rights violations or environmental pollution up or down their value chain. Human rights violations are a ‘hot’ topic and businesses are confronted with ethical challenges in this respect ...
Please be informed that a new Counter-Sanctions Regime of Making Payments in IP-Related Agreements in Russia was established by the Presidential Decree No. 322 dated May 27th, 2022 “On the temporary procedure for fulfilling obligations in respect of certain right holders” (“Decree No. 322”). It came into force on the date of signing. Download the file to see more. https://alrud ...
In a recent article published in Capital Markets Law Journal, WSG Member Helene Andersson, Counsel at Delphi, examines the EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) from a due process perspective and discusses the negative implications of pursuing a market abuse regime with a one-eyed focus on effectiveness at the expense of procedural safeguards. Click here to access the full article ...
It has been reported by various news outlets that Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) has prepared a draft decision which may well lead to the end of EU-US data transfers. This draft decision is a consequence of the concerns which have been raised by USA surveillance laws and practices and comes in the wake of the invalidation of the EU-US Privacy Shield by the Court of Justice of the EU a few years ago ...
On Tuesday 19 July 2022 parts of the UK set new record temperatures. Charterhall in the Scottish borders recorded a temperature of 34.8 degrees Celsius, the highest ever recorded in Scotland. Whereas Coningsby in Lincolnshire reported a new UK high of 40.3 degrees Celsius. This has caused fires to break out in parts of the UK and resulted in the UK’s first ever red travel warning due to extreme heat ...
Competitive gaming is growing – quickly! Esports are growing in popularity and have already become a central feature of the entertainment landscape. Esport teams and events are becoming sophisticated and commercially valuable operations as they capture a growing number of eyeballs, clicks and high profile sponsorships ...
Asbestos was used extensively in UK commercial and residential buildings in the 20th century, primarily for insulation, flooring and roofing, as well as being sprayed on ceilings and walls. On health grounds, the UK banned the use and import of all asbestos in November 1999. The House of Commons DWP Select Committee recently conducted an inquiry into the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) approach to asbestos management ...
