WHAT IS OPEN BANKING? We had earlier delved into the concept of Open Banking and its regulatory framework in our articles accessiblehere[1]andhere[2].In summary, Open Banking is a system that grants third-party providers (TPPs) open access to consumer banking, transactions, and other financial data from banks and non-bank financial institutions(NBFIs) through the use of Application Programming Interface (API) ...
In the recent case ofAslan v Stepanoski[1](the Aslan case), the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, Australia upheld a builder’s action suspending the performance of works over non-payment and denial of access to the site by the employer. The Court held that the contractor’s decision to suspend works was not a repudiatory conduct as he was entitled to do so under the contract ...
On 13thJune 2022, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) issued the draft Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries (“the Code”).[1] The objectives of the Code include setting out best practices for Platforms and making the digital ecosystem safer for Nigerians and non-Nigerians in Nigeria ...
INTRODUCTION Cryptocurrencies have been gaining momentum in recent years, notwithstanding various concerns and critiques about the use-case of cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies built on the Blockchain, secured by cryptography and typically designed to operate as a medium of exchange. Cryptocurrencies had a bull run in 2021 with Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, rising from approximately USD7,000 in 2020 to an all-time high of approximately USD69,000 in 2021 ...
We publish the new edition of the newsletter on Banking and Finance, Capital Markets and Insurance Law in Angola for the 2nd quarter of 2022 brings together the most significant new developments in these areas. In this newsletter, you can find legislative news regarding the National Bank of Angola, President of the Republic, Government/Parliament and CMC ...
Law 31/22 - which approved the Angolan Code of Administrative Procedure (“new CPA”) - was published in the Official Gazette on 30 August last. This law has repealed Decree-Law 16-A/95 of 15 December, which, in turn, approved the Rules of Administrative Procedure (“former CPA”). The previous CPA, came into force in January 1996 and was only amended in 2016 by Law 9/16 of 16 June ...
As African countries grapple with the measures necessary to meet their nationally determined commitments (“NDCs”) under the Paris Agreement, it is critical to be primed to attract sustainable finance, and for central banks and regulators in each country to create a fertile environment for this redirection of capital ...
Most people know that Facebook is now Meta, following a well-publicised rebrand in 2021. According to an article that appeared in the publication IP Planet: “the main goal was for this name to fit better with future developments of the company, and in particular with the emergence of the metaverse as a new virtual world.” Image source: Unsplash We reported back in 2021 on the emergence of the Metaverse ...
In this article, we look at three IP-related matters that have come up recently. THREATS - BREACH OF CONFIDENCE / PRIVATE INFORMATION There’s been an interesting UK court decision dealing with breach of confidence: Clearcourse Partnership and others v Jethwa (2022). In this case, a party involved in a business sale heard and used information that he was not supposed to hear ...
S African countries grapple with the measures necessary to meet their nationally determined commitments (“NDCs”) under the Paris Agreement, it is critical to be primed to attract sustainable finance, and for central banks and regulators in each country to create a fertile environment for this redirection of capital ...
It has been a little over a year since the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”), an international initiative established to combat money laundering published its Mutual Evaluation Report (“MER”) on South Africa in which it identified major “weak spots” in our compliance processes. The FATF gave the country a deadline of February 2023 to remedy all the deficiencies or face possible grey listing ...
The modern world of technology has undoubtedly changed the manner in which we collect evidence as well as the types of evidence relied on in arbitration proceedings and trials. One such example is the increased use of digital and printed evidence. The reliance on computerised data and its credibility was explored in the recent case of Eskom Holdings SOC Limited v Ravichandran Reddy. In this matter, Mr Reddy, a zone manager at Eskom, was a beneficiary of Eskom’s managerial car scheme ...
In Ismail v Life Entabeni Hospital, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (“CCMA”) had to decide whether an employee had been unfairly discriminated against on the basis of her religion as a result of the employer’s “bare below the elbow” policy (“BBE policy”) which did not permit the wearing of long sleeves by those employees working in general wards and the ICU ...
What are the legal consequences of an employee continuing to work after the employee has reached the agreed upon retirement age? Does a new contract of employment come into force or does the old contract continue operating? Can an employer still terminate employment on the basis that the employee has reached (and passed) their retirement age? These questions have been the subject of much debate over the years ...
With many clients moving towards cloud computing models and looking to outsource certain components of their business to cloud service providers, we often get asked to advise on the legal risks associated with opting for a single-cloud strategy versus a multi-cloud strategy. A company is reliant on one cloud vendor to provide all elements of the cloud solution if it opts for a single-cloud strategy ...
On 25 August 2022, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies published the Films and Publications Amendment Regulations, 2022, (“Regulations”) which came into effect on 2 September 2022. The Regulations provide clarity and guidelines regarding the implementation of the Films and Publications Amendment Act, 2019 that came into force on 1 March 2022 ...
On 14 October 2022, the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, in terms of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (“FICA”) made amendments to the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Control Regulations, 2002, which will come into force on 14 November 2022. In terms of these amendments, the prescribed amount for reporting cash transactions under section 28 of FICA to the Financial Intelligence Centre has increased from ZAR24 999 to ZAR49 999.99 ...
On 6 October 2022, as part of the ongoing work of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework (“IF”) on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) to implement the Two-Pillar solution to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy, the OECD released its progress report for comment. Background The report was prepared for the purposes of obtaining further input from stakeholders on the administration and tax certainty aspects of Amount A ...
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 ...
In recent articles, we’ve discussed some of the IP implications of the Metaverse, cryptocurrency, and non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”). But when it comes to securing IP protection, what is really involved? This article provides background to these concepts and deals with some of the nitty-gritty as far as IP protection is concerned ...
