The Council and Parliament deal on the 13th November involves several alterations to the proposed Critical Raw Materials Act, put forward in March this year (EU launches a Critical Raw Material Act – the proposal will impact Norwegian mining legislation – Simonsen Vogt Wiig (svw.no). In the European Commission’s original proposal, 34 raw materials were listed as critical raw materials, while 16 raw materials were listed as strategic raw materials ...
By: Anne Marie Ellis, John Epperson and Peter McGaw OEHHA is proposing a significant change to the Proposition 65 “short-form warning” to require that this warning identify a specific Proposition 65 (“Prop. 65”) chemical. Currently, the short-form warning requires identification of a toxicological endpoint (i.e. cancer or reproductive harm) but not the chemical that has triggered the warning requirement ...
The United States Supreme Court will soon decide whether public officials may be liable for blocking constituents on social media. On October 31, 2023, the Court heard oral argument in O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier[i] and Lindke v. Freed,[ii] cases in which local school board officials and a city manager, respectively, are alleged to have blocked constituents from commenting on, or viewing, public social media accounts used for both government business as well as personal affairs ...
The High Court handed down the approved judgment on Monday 6 November 2023 in the case between Siemens Mobility Limited (“Siemens”) and High Speed Two (HS2) Limited (“HS2”) ...
In the course of regular updates on Russian counter-sanctions, we would like to provide you with information on Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated November 08, 2023 No. 844 “On Additional Temporary Economic Measures Related to Circulation of Foreign Securities” (“Decree No. 844”). Decree No ...
In its priorities note for 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) listed the pharmaceutical and health care sector as one of it major interests. It noted that “in the coming months, the BCA will also devote additional attention and resources to the continued consolidation in the hospital sector ...
For as long as there have been rules of evidence and courtrooms, there have been products that can impair litigants or witnesses—and products whose use carries the potential to trigger certain stigmas in the eyes of the finders of fact. Cannabis, which has been around longer than nearly every judicial system in the world and the subject of political and popular debate in the United States for the past century, may be the paradigmatic product at the moment ...
On 26 October 2023 the Online Safety Act (‘the Act’) received Royal Assent, enacting rules designed to, in the UK government’s words, make the UK the safest place in the world to be online ...
Since April 2018, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) has prohibited landlords from renting commercial properties that do not meet certain environmental standards ...
On November 7, 2023, Ohio voters passed Issue 1, the Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety, to establish the constitutional right to certain reproductive decisions. The new right will be enshrined in Section 22 of Article 1 of the Ohio Constitution, and will become effective within 30 days after the election. The passage of Issue 1 establishes in the Ohio Constitution an individual’s right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment ...
On November 7, 2023 Ohio voters approved the Issue 2 ballot initiative, which will make substantial revisions to Ohio’s cannabis laws[1] and make Ohio the 24th state[2] to legalize recreational marijuana. Issue 2 was introduced by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol which, according to the group, sought to legalize and regulate the cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sale of marijuana and marijuana products to adults and also legalize home grow for adults ...
The U.S. Government Accountability Office's recently issued annual bid protest report is noteworthy because it shows that 31% of bid protests were sustained — more than double the rate for prior years— and that protesters received some form of relief from the procuring agency in more than half of the protests filed with the GAO in fiscal year 2023 ...
The Ministry of Economy published the new proposed Regulation on Price Information per Unit of Measurement of Products (Decree No. 229 of 2002), which seeks to improve the transparency and quality of the information provided to consumers regarding the prices of products both in physical stores and online, so that they can make informed purchasing decisions and promote fair competition in the market ...
This week marks National Fertility Awareness Week in the UK. This annual event, organised by Fertility Network UK, a national charity dedicated to supporting individuals on their fertility journeys, aims to change perceptions and raise awareness for those undergoing fertility treatment. The theme for this year is "Forward4Fertility," emphasising progress and inclusivity in the journey towards parenthood. The staggering fact that over 3 ...
Following the route set out in the ongoing constitutional process and taking into consideration the draft prepared by the Expert Commission and the amendments presented during the respective discussion in the Joint Commission, the Constitutional Council approved yesterday, the Preliminary Draft of the New Constitution ...
Module 5 will assess the robustness and effectiveness of procurement processes, the adequacy of items obtained (including their specification, quality, and volume) and the effectiveness of their distribution. It will also consider the UK-wide procurement of lateral flow and PCR tests. The provisional scope for this module lists three key areas of investigation ...
Only five months after its first reading on 17 May 2023, the future is already in doubt for key aspects of the Renters (Reform) Bill. The changes proposed by the Bill include the abolition of ‘no fault’ evictions under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, meaning that landlords would be required to rely on the more combative section 8 process ...
Earlier in the year, we reported on the government’s announcement of increases to visa and nationality fees. These increases to application fees came into force on 4 October 2023, other than the substantial increase to the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) which was expected to come ‘later in the autumn’ ...
It’s the final countdown, with only one year to go before EU member states must transpose the EU’s new Network and Information Security 2 Directive (“NIS 2”) into national law. Key Dates EU Member States have until 17 October 2024 to transpose NIS 2 into national law and those national laws will apply to organisations as early as 18 October 2024. Enforcement is likely to start from 17 January 2025, in line with parallel legislation affecting financial services ...
October 18, 2023 By: Leah Lively California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed SB 525 into law, which amends the California Labor Code to set industry minimum wage requirements for nearly all healthcare workers, whether they are hourly or salaried employees, or independent contractors. The law also provides these workers with an independent private right of action to enforce these minimum wage requirements ...
The European Commission published a draft proposal for a revised Product Liability Directive (the “PLD Proposal”) on 28 September 2022, which aims to bring the European Union’s product liability regime ‘up to speed’ with the digital age, circular economy business models and global value chains. This blog focuses on the main changes the PLD Proposal brings and its impact on life science companies ...
On October 8, 2023, theScientific and Technological Ethics Review Regulation (Trial)("Scientific and Technological Ethics Regulation") was jointly published by the China's Ministry of Science and Technology ("MOST"), the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and other seven (7) departments/institutions, which was followed by a press conference held next day by the MOST to respond to media inquiries ("Press Conference") ...
