Overview A recent B.C. court decision provides welcome news for trustees of multi-employer, defined benefit, negotiated cost pension plans. Under s. 59(3) of the Pension Benefits Standards Act (“PBSA”), trustees of these plans can reduce accrued benefits to meet solvency requirements, and have used this power at various times in the last 12 years. But this power had never been judicially tested. In Neville v ...
In this edition: - Fire Legislation Changes - Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations Amended - Accounting for Risk - Workplace Stress - Lock up Your Ladders - Corporate Manslaughter Act Moves Closer to Reality - Vibration Regulations are Imminent
Directive of the European Parliament No. 2004/27EC of 31 March 2004 amending Directive 2001/83/EC on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use (OJ EU [2004], L 136, p. 34) Scientific progress and the development of new types of products explain the rise in issues regarding the legal qualification of so-called “borderline” products ...
Judgment of the European Court of Justice in Tetra Laval BV v. European Commission (Case C-12/03 P) of 15 February 2005 In its judgment of 15 February 2005 in case Tetra Laval BV v. European Commission, the European Court of Justice (hereinafter the “ECJ”) upheld and confirmed conclusions reached by the Court of First Instance (hereinafter the “CFI”) in its judgment of 25 October 2002 ...
The judgment of the European Court of Justice in European Commission v. max.mobil Telekommunikation Service (C-141/02 P) of 22 February 2005 The plaintiff was an Austrian mobile operator contesting the level of regulatory fees it was required to pay. Specifically, as the claimant indicated, it was subject to fees similar to those applicable to a competing mobile operator owned by the Austrian state ...
Commission Guidelines for the Notification of Dangerous Consumer Products to the Competent Authorities of the Member States by Producers and Distributors in accordance with Article 5(3) of Directive 2001/95/EC (Commission document No ...
Unlimited Liability Corporations Lawson Lundell LLP is committed to excellence in business law. In fulfilling this commitment, we ensure that we are aware of changes in the legal environment and are proactive in identifying opportunities for our clients to benefit from such changes. The recent introduction of legislation in Alberta to allow the creation of unlimited liability corporations (¡§ULCs¡¨) presents such an opportunity. Enclosed is a brief summary of ULCs and their uses ...
As a director you have a duty to act honestly, in good faith and in the best interests of the company. This means you must take proper care of the company's assets and ensure that you don't profit from your position. To this end, when purchasing property from the company, the purchase price should reflect the current market value ...
In this edition: - New Corporate Manslaughter Rules - ’64 Act Stamped Out - Lock Up Your Ladders! - News Round Up - Planning: Out of Town - Out of Mind? - Use Classes Change
What is Licensing?Globalization and the opening of international markets generate an increase in trade on a world-wide basis and greater competition between businesses. It has become increasingly difficult for companies to follow the traditional process of developing, manufacturing and distributing products themselves.Licensing is a simple and different way of selling one’s products ...
The Director of Corporate Enforcement is targeting company directors who abandon insolvent companies and leave them to be involuntarily struck off the Register as an alternative to a formal liquidation. The Director has indicated that he will take proceedings under Section 160 of the Companies Act, 1990 to secure disqualification orders against such directors in appropriate cases. He is getting support for this in the High Court ...
The Irish Law Reform Commission has published two consultation papers recommending legislative changes to clarify the role, duties, powers and responsibilities of trustees, including charitable trustees, so that general trust law keeps up with the ever changing economic and social climate ...
The new Arbitration Rules of the International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) came into force on 1 May 2005. The following are the major changes: Specialist Arbitration Rules The new Rules provide for the possibility of using rules tailored made for specific industries. Todate, only rules for financial disputes have been published. Specialist panels of arbitrators have also been set up according to the nature of dispute ...
The decision to terminate an employee carries with it the risk of a possible legal challenge. Depending upon an employer’s policies or whether an employee has an employment contract, an employee may, for example, have a breach of contract or “wrongful discharge” claim. An “at-will” employer - that is, an employer who reserves the right to terminate employees without cause - generally does not need to worry about such claims ...
In the majority of countries, the rights obtained over a trademark are created by its use and/or its registration. Mexican law follows a mixed or exception system. In effect, the right to the exclusive use of a trademark is obtained by means of its registration, which protects certain products or services (the principle of specificity of products or services); however, its use also produces legal effects before and after the registration ...
On May 10, 2005 an “Accord Establishing Additional Benefits for Certified Companies With a Maquila or PITEX Program” came into effect. This new accord provides additional benefits for certified companies which have a maquila or PITEX program ...
Under the current law, for an organisation to be liable for a fatality the 'identification' principle must apply. This first requires an individual to be personally guilty of the wrongdoing. This individual must then be identified as the "controlling mind" of the company. There are several problems with the current system. It is often impossible to identify the "controlling mind" behind the decision which results in the death ...
Enron, WorldCom, Tyco International and Parmalat: names associated with tales of corruption, mismanagement and financial irregularity. But these names are now also synonymous with something else: a raft of reforms to company regulation worldwide. Two such reforms being felt in the UK are the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, and the FTSE Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) Corporate Governance Index Series ...
This paper is about the role of the pension and benefits lawyer in the context of a merger or acquisition. The paper profiles several recent high profile corporate transactions where pension issues played unexpectedly significant roles. These provide potent examples of how the pension and benefits lawyer should be consulted early on in the transaction process ...
The EU Directives on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Restriction of certain Hazardous Substances in Electronic and Electrical Equipment (ROHS) are due to take effect from 13 August 2005. The Department of the Environment recently produced draft regulations to implement these directives and make the necessary amendments to existing waste legislation ...
General overview What legislation governs M&A activity in your jurisdiction? M&A activities in Taiwan are primarily governed by the Enterprise Mergers and Acquisitions Law, the Securities and Exchange Law, the Company Law, the Fair Trade Law and the Regulations Governing Tender Offers for Purchase of the Securities of a Public Company ...
2004 has again been a very busy year on the M&A and Corporate Finance front, with the building materials, financial services, media and the property sectors dominating. The take private arena has been particularly active. Having been privatised in 2002, eircom was floated again earlier in the year with a market capitalisation of €1.1 billion ...
Outsourcing is not a new phenomenon. As business processes become more complex and costly many Irish companies are concentrating on their core activities and handing over responsibility for running expensive systems and managing large numbers of employees to expert third parties, for an agreed price. Irish companies are also increasingly outsourcing for strategic reasons, looking to leverage the specialist expertise of service providers to open new product and market opportunities ...
In part two of his article on Near and Offshore Outsourcings Dominic Conlon of A&L Goodbody sets out a list of issues which should be considered by any company looking to outsource its service requirements to a provider based in a foreign jurisdiction ...
Preamble In Quebec, most collective agreements contain a “loss of seniority and employment” clause according to which the signatories agree to terminate the employment of an employee in various circumstances, in particular after an absence of a specific period of time due to disability or illness. Collective agreements usually also provide for a benefit plan for an employee who is absent due to disability or illness, or the protection of his or her employment during this period ...
