Today (16 July 2020), the ECJ handed down its long-awaited judgment on the validity of Standard Contractual Clauses in international data transfers (ECJ, judgment of 16 July 2020, case C-311/18). In a surprise move the Court of Justice declared the EU Commission's adequacy decision on the Privacy Shield - the agreement that allows data transfers to certain companies in the USA - to be invalid. On the other hand it confirmed the validity of the Standard Contractual Clauses ...
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has this morning handed down a landmark judgment in which it has ruled that the EU's Fourth AML Directive (EU2015/849) whereby Member States must ensure that the information held on beneficial ownership registers is accessible to any member of the general public is INVALID as being a breach of Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union ...
The Acoset judgment of the ECJ dated 15 October 2009 (C-196/08) was related to a dispute about an institutionalised public-private partnership (IPPP). A local authority wanted to grant a concession to a newly-created semi-public company, whose minority shareholder would be a private company selected by an open tender procedure. The minority shareholder would be responsible for the operations of the semi-public company ...
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program is one that attracts its fair share of attention, not all of it good, and too much of it from organizations named with that part of the alphabet — SEC and DOJ — that can strike fear in the heart of a business person. And Texas is often the center of the investigators’ focus ...
O’Neal Webster hopes that you, your family, your co-workers, and communities are staying healthy and positive during these challenging times. With the surge of the new coronavirus COVID-19 cases around the globe, and now in the Caribbean, all major stakeholders in the British Virgin Islands have taken measures to ensure an efficient and effective transition of business and human resources. We are confident that we will get through this challenge by helping and supporting each other ...
On 30 April 2020, the European Commission adopted three implementing regulations allowing temporary derogations from the strict cartel prohibition provided for by EU competition law in three specific agricultural sectors: dairy, potato and live plants and flowers. The latter sector is said to broadly cover “live trees and other plants, bulbs, roots and the like, cut flowers and ornamental foliage” ...
The Public Prosecutors’ Department in Dubai has the power to impose fines with respect to certain criminal misdemeanors and offences[i] without being required to refer the matter to a Court of Law. Such fines are issued under a Penal Order. This power stems from Dubai Law No. 1 of 2017, which authorises the Attorney General of Dubai to prescribe the offences and the corresponding fines which may be the subject of a Penal Order ...
Earlier this year, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai, issued Decree No. 28 of 2018 concerning the Acceptance of the Civil Petitions before Dubai Courts (the Decree). The Decree was issued by His Highness to address the procedures in filing appeals to the Court of Cassation. The Court of Cassation is the highest court in Dubai. Article No. 173 of Federal Law No ...
Article 319(1) of the UAE Civil Procedure Law authorises an execution judge to imprison a debtor who fails to satisfy a judgment debt, unless the debtor is able to prove that he is insolvent. Although the text of Article 319(1) places the burden of proving insolvency on the judgment debtor, this appears to have been reversed following a decision of the General Assembly of the Dubai Court of Cassation issued in October 2023 ...
In a decision issued in July 2021, the Dubai Court of Appeal held that an arbitration clause should be construed narrowly, and emphasized that everything that may be waived or prevents its [i.e., the arbitration clause’s] application must be sought. This judgment, which rejected a challenge to the jurisdiction of the Dubai Courts based on the existence of a purported arbitration agreement, was discussed in our inBrief dated 12 September 2021 ...
There are a number of reasons why parties who have agreed to arbitrate disputes (ordinarily by way of an arbitration clause in a contract) may later wish to litigate their dispute in the UAE courts. A common reason is the cost of arbitration, which can be quite significant compared to the cost of litigating in the UAE Courts ...
The use of drones in the world is increasing very rapidly and plays an important role in optimizing processes across a various range of industries: agriculture, delivery services, infrastructure, mapping, military and so on. These machines are very efficient, effective, and safe tools for quality, safety and savings ...
The automotive industry has launched a new LGBTQ+ movement with an aim to provide a safer space for LGBTQ+ people within the industry and drive change within the sector. The movement, named Driving Pride, is focusing on making the automotive sector a more inclusive and supportive industry for LGBTQ+ workers. Major automotive brands including Ford and Jaguar Land Rover have signed up to the movement in a bid to help promote greater diversity and inclusion within their organisations ...
California Business and Professions Code Section 10083.2 requires the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) to provide information regarding the status of every DRE licensee on its website, including information regarding any disciplinary actions taken by the DRE against a licensee. The purpose of these disclosures is to ensure full transparency concerning information the DRE deems to present a "credible risk" to members of the public. The issue with Section 10083 ...
Last night, only days ahead of a general election the minority Government in Norway is likely not to win, a proposal for dramatic changes to the upstream petroleum tax regime. It was announced at 18.00 hours Oslo time in a hastily called press conference by the Minister of Finance Mr Sanner (Conservative) and the Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ms Bru (Conservative) ...
The COVID-19 pandemic distinctly reminds us that during their term, contracts may be exposed to influences beyond the parties’ control, which may unforeseeably complicate their performance or make it impossible. Examples include civil wars, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or pirate attacks on cargo ships ...
Since the consultation document on Proposed Security of Payment Legislation (SOPL) for the Construction Industry in June 2015 and the report of the consultation in April 2016, the SOPL Bill has yet to be put before the Legislative Council for consideration. The Government released a draft Technical Circular on the Implementation of the Spirit of Security of Payment Legislation in Public Works Contracts (Draft Circular) and a reference document in mid-March 2021 ...
The highly anticipated Omnibus Bill (“the “Bill”) is taking its first step as the first draft was recently submitted to the House of Representatives. The Bill will amend (or simplify) various regulations on from licensing procedures, investment requirements, manpower, immigration, export-import, land procurement to special economic zones with the main focus being creating jobs ...
In August 2024 the European Commission published draft guidelines on the application of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”) to abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant undertakings. Rather than the current guidance on enforcement priorities, this document has taken the shape of guidelines proper, similar to those found in respect of Article 101 TFEU ...
On 24 January 2023 the government launched a consultation seeking feedback on its draft statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement (sometimes known as “fire and rehire”). The consultation remains open until 18 April 2023. The draft code does not apply to redundancy situations ...
On 16 July 2024, Legal Notice 166 of 2024 was published in Malta. This implemented the relevant provisions of DORA (full title being Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on digital operational resilience for the financial sector and amending Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009, (EU) 648/2012, (EU) 600/2014, (EU) No 909/2014 and (EU) 2016/1011) into Maltese law ...
The UK Government has announced that businesses will have a further year to start using the UKCA marking for goods placed on the GB market, extending the deadline to 1 January 2023. What is a UKCA mark? The UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking is the new UK product marking that is used for certain goods that are placed on the GB market and covers most goods which previously required the EU CE marking, known as ‘new approach’ goods ...
The Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management issued the first interim final rule with comment period, in what is likely to be a series of rules, aimed at ending surprise medical bills from out-of-network providers ...
