The UAE’s arbitration landscape continues to evolve and, as 2023 draws to a close, we summarise some of the more significant judgments issued by the UAE on-shore Courts in relation to arbitration this year. While the trend of the judgments reinforces the ‘arbitration-friendly’ approach of the UAE Courts of late, 2023 has not been without its outlier cases ...
On January 25, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) returned to the common-law agency test for determining whether workers qualified as independent contractors. SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., 367 NLRB No. 75 (2019) The decision expressly overrules the Board’s decision in FedEx Home Delivery, 361 NLRB 610 (2014), enf. denied 849 F.3d 1123 (D.C. Cir. 2017) ...
In recent years, NASA has spent millions, if not billions, of dollars developing what they call “US commercial crew space capabilities” – in ordinary terms they want to make it easier to access the International Space Station from Earth. In trying to achieve this aim they have entered into various commercial agreements under the National Aeronatics and Space Act, known as Space Act Agreements (SAAs), instead of using more traditional form commercial contracts ...
Muted voices: can beneficiaries of a STAR trust be empowered to play "devil's advocate" In In the Matter of the G Trust[1] the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands was asked by the trustee of a Cayman STAR trust to give directions in relation to the question of who should participate, and in what capacity, in an application for rectification of a deed supplemental to the trust (the "rectification application") ...
On January 27, the British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in Bea v. The Owners Strata Plan, LMS 2138, 2015 BCCA 31, upholding the lower court’s decision finding the Plaintiff and her husband in contempt of Court and granting the extraordinary relief that the Plaintiff’s strata unit (the “Unit”) be seized and sold by the respondent (the “Owners”) ...
The majority of disputes are settled before trial, and an increasing number are settled before proceedings are issued. The Civil Procedure Rules that provide the framework for litigation in England and Wales encourage parties to consider alternative ways to resolve their differences. There are a variety of techniques that can be utilised to achieve an early and cost effective settlement. Collectively, these are known as ADR ...
In 2010, the New York State Bar Association’s (NYSBA) Task Force on New York Law in International Matters (Task Force) recommended the creation of a permanent center for international dispute resolution in New York.1 And on June 17, 2013, the New York International Arbitration Center (NYIAC), a non-profit providing world-class arbitration facilities and educational programs about international arbitration, opened its doors ...
On 23 January 2015, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment concerning the moderation of an invalid non-competition clause in a business transfer agreement. This judgment arose after the Ghent Court of Appeal had refused to moderate a non-competition obligation lasting for period of 17 years. In line with previous case law, the clause was declared absolutely null and void and the Ghent Court of Appeal ruled that the clause could not be mitigated in any way ...
At a time when Canada and many other countries are taking steps to protect users from harm online,1a decision was handed down by the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the “Court”) on January 15, 2024, regarding the conduct of a competitor with respect to complaints about intellectual property infringement made on Amazon’s e-commerce website ...
At a time when Canada and many other countries are taking steps to protect users from harm online,1 a decision was handed down by the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the ?Court?) on January 15, 2024, regarding the conduct of a competitor with respect to complaints about intellectual property infringement made on Amazon?s e-commerce website ...
The South African Constitutional Court has found that cabinet ministers can now be held personally liable for the costs of legal proceedings to which they are a party. This finding was made in the case of Black Sash Trust v Minister of Social Development and Others (Freedom Under Law NPC Intervening), in which judgment was delivered on 15 June 2017 ...
November 2016: In the recent Singapore High Court decision of The Enterprise Fund II Ltd v JongHee Sen [2016] SGHC 259, Judicial Commissioner Hoo Sheau Peng (the "Judge") considered whether “withoutprejudice” privilege ("WP Privilege")applied to certain communications between the parties and, consequently,whether those communications could be received into evidence ...
Mind Your Belgian Distributor! FAQ on the Belgian Law of 27 July 1961 on the Unilateral Termination of Exclusive Distribution Agreements of Indefinite Duration. Belgium is one of the very few countries in the world with a specific legal regime for the termination of certain distribution agreements, in addition to a law on agency contracts ...
In a judgment handed down by the UK High Court on 28 February 2017, Mr Justice Marcus Smith stayed claims against one defendant and set aside permission to serve the proceedings outside the jurisdiction against the remaining defendants in a competition damages claim relating to the lithium ion (Li-ion) battery cartel. Competition damages claims are used when a party claims damages for losses allegedly caused by anti-competitive conduct ...
Since its creation by Decree-Law No. 10/2003 of January 18, the new Portuguese Competition Authority (“PCA”) has analysed more than 150 concentrations. It is said to analyse around 5 concentrations a month. In 2004 and 2005, the PCA reported 130 notified concentrations, 125 of which had issued decisions and 11 cases in which said decisions were reached following second phase proceedings ...
Many jurisdictions have put in place legislation to regulate merger activities. There have been discussions that it is high time for Malaysia to implement a general merger control regime under the Malaysian Competition Act 2010. As it presently stands, general merger activities which do not fall within two specific sectors (will be discussed below) are not regulated and no prior sanction is required from the Competition Commission before a merger transaction takes place ...
The question sometimes arises in a divorce as to whether one or both parties have mental capacity to litigate. If a party lacks that mental capacity, they will need someone to make decisions for them during the divorce process. This person is called a ‘litigation friend’ ...
New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez (D), his wife, Nadine, and two businessmen are scheduled to face trial on bribery charges on May 6. They’ll become the latest example where the dual intent, or mixed motive, concept turns the reasonable doubt standard on its head by essentially requiring defendants to prove their innocence ...
In case of a dispute arising between the parties, it may be advisable initially to solve it without the recourse to the courts, i.e. through sending a letter - claim or a warning, signing the court approved settlement agreement, obtaining an executive record of the notary public according to promissory notes or cheques, whether protested or not, or by seeking compromise through negotiations, etc. If the parties fail to solve a dispute amicably, the dispute may be referred to the courts ...
Commonly, conflicts are settled by a judicial organ, through which a legal expert issues a resolution according to legal criteria and provisions. Nowadays, the options to resolve conflicts are not only limited to the decision of a Judge, but there are alternative means characterized for being voluntary, confidential, economical, and expedite. These means are generally known as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which mainly include arbitration, mediation, and conciliation ...
Article by Anne Coulon, Regional Legal Adviser, DFDL Thailand Mediation is a confidential, fast, flexible and cost-effective dispute resolution (“DR”) method based on the mutual consent of the involved parties. Companies, contractors, individuals, banks, real estate owners, governmental bodies; or any combination thereof may be parties to commercial mediation. Breaches of contract, business torts etc. can all be successfully submitted to and/or resolved through mediation ...
The starting point for mediation in commercial disputes is that the parties themselves are in the best position to resolve the dispute, instead of entrusting it to an arbitrator or a judge. In this way, the parties retain control over their conflict, thus increasing the opportunities to reach a flexible solution. In this article we will briefly review the alternatives offered by the public courts in Sweden when a dispute already has emerged ...
Generally, mediation and its process are foreign to most litigants. With the possible exception of the parties’ lawyers and insurance adjusters, often even the most sophisticated business clients have never been in mediation and do not fully understand the process or know what to expect. Frequently, as the mediator, in the early stages of the day I hear: “It is not my fault ...
