State Aid is something of a European hot potato as the European Commission is currently in the process of reforming the rules surrounding State Aid. This reform process is the key priority for Robert Hankin, head of the Regional Aid Unit at the European Commission. State Aid involves support given by a member state to businesses, in the form of subsidies or tax breaks for example, and has a wide-ranging impact throughout Europe ...
What will the impact be when the Scottish Parliament Finance Committee reports on Accountability and Governance asks Kelly Harris The Finance Committee of the Scottish Parliament has been conducting an inquiry into Accountability and Governance in Scotland, looking at the proliferation of Commissioners and Ombudsmen established since devolution. The impetus behind the inquiry was the growing concern that money might be being wasted as a result of overlapping functions and responsibilities ...
On 14 July 2006, the Hong Kong and Mainland China Governments signed a ground-breaking agreement, rather lengthily entitled "An Arrangement on Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region pursuant to Choice of Court Agreements between Parties Concerned" (Arrangement), under which they agreed to recognise and enforce judgments made in each others courts ...
Although the United Kingdom comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, this guide relates only to the current position in England and Wales because Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own individual legal systems. The rules and procedure of the Civil Courts in England and Wales are contained in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) which were introduced in 1999 and which lay down the framework within which all civil litigation must be conducted ...
The implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 6957 as amended, or the BOT Law, have been revised to increase incentives, minimize government regulations, allow reasonable returns on investments, share risks between the government and the project proponent, and assure transparency and competitiveness in the bidding and award of projects ...
Keeping in Shape – Trademark Protection of Product ConfigurationsThe development of unique and distinctive product configurations allows the producer of the product to achieve more bang for its marketing dollar. The consumer not only cognitively associates the manufacturer’s word mark with the product, but also its configuration. In this context, the oft cited example is the Coca-Cola bottle shape ...
The English Court of Appeal has thrown out an attempt to appeal a decision in favour of Dyson about spare parts for Dyson vacuum cleaners. Dyson sued spare parts supplier Qualtex for infringement of Dyson's unregistered design rights (UDR) in 14 spare parts manufactured by Qualtex. The spare parts were deliberately designed to look like the originals, known as "pattern parts" in the trade ...
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) both came into force on 1 January 2005. The Acts gave the general public the right to request and receive information held by public authorities for the first time ...
The Police and Justice Bill was put before the House of Commons on 25 January 2006. The main aim of the Bill is to improve the powers and scope of the police force but there are a number of sections which look to update the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (CMA) and in particular to make Denial of Service (DOS) Attacks illegal. DOS attacks can take many forms but are essentially an attempt to disrupt the use of a computer, server or website ...
TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION II ...
In a long-awaited judgment, the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (“CFI”) partially upheld on December 14, 2005, the European Commission’s decision of July 3, 2001 to block the proposed acquisition of Honeywell International Inc. (“Honeywell”) by General Electric Company (“GE”). In its decision, the Commission had considered that the merger should be blocked for three sets of reasons ...
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 ...
The Cabinet Office's Better Regulation Executive (BRE) is currently undertaking a review of penalties for businesses that fall foul of the law and business should ensure their views are heard. This spring, a consultation paper will be released which will be the final opportunity for stakeholders and interested parties to contribute to the review before it makes its recommendations to the Government in late 2006 ...
March of 2006 will make a mark in history as the date in which the people of Bolivia have manifested, through the National Congress, their irrevocable and unequivocal decision of modifying the political structure of the Republic by simultaneously calling to a Constituent Assembly, with the purpose of designing a new Political Constitution, and to a binding referendum on departmental autonomies. Six presidents have passed since the beginning of the new millennium ...
Scotland's new procurement regulations came into force on 31 January 2006, meaning the country is covered by a separate set of procurement rules than the rest of the UK. This is a major change from the previous regime. The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations and the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations, both 2006, were introduced to ensure the procurement regime in Scotland complies with the European Union's new directives on procurement in the public and utilities sectors ...
In order to speed up the application in Mexico of the concept of “immunity” proposed in a recent bill containing amendments to the Federal Economic Competition Law (the “Law”), a full session of the Commission, on January 26, 2006, approved the “Internal Policies to Grant Immunity to Those Cooperating in Investigations of Monopolistic Practices.” The policy will work as follows: 1 ...
Great fanfare surrounded the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 a year ago. The FOI legislation was hailed as a success in changing the culture of government. But while most public sector organisations have now come to grips with the workings of the FOI legislation, many have overlooked an associated set of regulations that came into effect at the start of this summer ...
The 18th Session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People’s Congress adopted the amended Company Law of the of the People’s Republic of China on 27 October 2005. President Hu Jintao promulgated the Law on the same date. The Law, which enters into effect on 1 January 2006, is a significant reform of the Company Law. It simplifies company establishment requirements and statutorily expands the rights of shareholders in PRC companies ...
At the 18th Session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People’s Congress held on 27 October 2005 amendments to the Securities Law of the of the People’s Republic of China were adopted. The amendments, which were promulgated by President Hu Jintao on 27 October 2005 and enter into effect on 1 January 2006, represent a significant reform of the Law which was first promulgated in 1999 ...
The State Council passed the Regulations of the People's Republic of China for the Administration of Production Licences for Industrial Products on 29 June 2005. The Regulations were promulgated by premier Wen Jiabao on 9 July 2005 and entered into effect on 1 September 2005. The Regulations repeal the Trial Regulations for Industrial Product Production Permits promulgated by the State Council on 7 April 1984 ...
The State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Information Industry issued the Regulations for the Administration of Internet News Information Services on 25 September 2005. The Regulations, which entered into effect on the date of their promulgation, impose licensing and recordal requirements on providers of online news information services in China ...
Great fanfare surrounded the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 a year ago. The FOI legislation was hailed as a success in changing the culture of government. But while most public sector organisations have now come to grips with the workings of the FOI legislation, many have overlooked an associated set of regulations that came into effect at the start of this summer ...
On December 6, 2005 the British Columbia Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Hupacasath First Nation v. British Columbia(1). In this decision, the court held that Crown’s duty to consult with first nations, as articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada in Haida Nation(2) and Taku River,(3) extends to government decisions regarding planning, development and use of private land ...
In the past days, two very important events at the Regional and National Level, honored the ADR mechanisms, specifically the mediation and arbitration proceedings. We refer to the First Central American Congress on Mediation and Arbitration organized by the Nicaraguan Chamber of Commerce and the Third National Congress on Mediation organized by the Office of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Division (DIRAC) of the Supreme Court of Justice ...
Judgement of the European Court of Justice in case C-287/03 – Commission v. Belgium, dated 12 May 2005 The decision follows an action of the Commission against Belgium for breach of Article 49 of the EC Treaty providing for the free movement of services. The Commission alleged that the way in which the prohibition of a “linked offer” under Belgian law was applied constituted an obstacle to free movement ...
