After nearly eight years in the offing, the Companies Bill looks likely to become law in November of this year, although it is likely that most of its provisions will not take effect until autumn 2007.Despite being a massive piece of legislation, for the most parts its provisions have not been controversial and have generally been welcomed ...
In short, yes! The Companies Bill is due to come into force in 2007 and contains the most drastic changes that company law has seen in the last ten years. Once implemented it is intended to simplify and improve the existing regulations. The Bill is designed to try and reduce the regulatory burden on businesses and in particular small enterprises ...
On 8 September 2006, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (‘the CAT’) gave judgment in favour of London Metal Exchange (‘LME’) to recover costs in respect of its appeal against an interim measures direction (‘IMD’) issued (and then withdrawn) by the Office of Fair Trading (‘the OFT’). The OFT’s first IMD arose from a complaint against, inter alia, LME’s plan to extend its opening hours for its non-ferrous base metals trading platform, LME Select, to capture the Asian markets ...
On 4 December 2006 the Disability Equality Duty will come into force. It will join the broadly similar Race Equality Duty, which has existed under the race relations legislation since 2001. Meanwhile, an analogous Gender Equality Duty is due to come into force in April 2007.The intention behind the creation of these new duties is to ensure that bodies which exercise public functions “mainstream” equality issues when exercising those functions ...
The European Regional Development Fund (“ERDF”) appears to be one of theappropriate means allowing Romania to reach, within the following years, the level of economicand social cohesion requested within the European Union (ERDF representing along with theEuropean Social Fund the new generation of Structural Funds)1 ...
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven Emirates that was formed by Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain following the end of the British protectorate over the ‘Trucial States’ in 1971. The Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah joined the federation the following year ...
The legal systems of the nations that comprise the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- have undergone dramatic, radical and progressive change and development in the past 25 years, which is continuing ...
On 8 September 2006, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (‘the CAT’) gave judgment in favour of London Metal Exchange (‘LME’) to recover costs in respect of its appeal against an interim measures direction (‘IMD’) issued (and then withdrawn) by the Office of Fair Trading (‘the OFT’). The OFT’s first IMD(FN1) arose from a complaint against, inter alia, LME’s plan to extend its opening hours for its non-ferrous base metals trading platform, LME Select, to capture the Asian markets ...
The Jebel Ali Free Zone (the "Free Zone") has authorized for the first time the incorporation of a commercial entity in the Free Zone owned by multiple parties. Dubai Implementing Regulation No. 1/99 (the "Implementing Regulation"), permits the incorporation in the Free Zone of "free zone companies" (a "FZCO") to be regulated by a new FZCO Department, which will have the responsibility for the formation, registration and regulation of FZCOs ...
The Emirates’ first stock exchange, the Dubai Financial Market, has been trading since mid 2000. A stock exchange was subsequently established in Abu Dhabi. Although the two markets are not presently linked, they are both subject to regulation under the UAE Securities & Commodities Exchange Law (the “Law”), which is a Federal legislation ...
If you are a business owner-leader whose years of hard labour earned him substantial wealth, you certainly wish to maximize the value of the assets that will be transferred to your heirs. You also want such transfer to proceed harmoniously and at the lowest tax cost possible. To achieve these goals, you must start to plan now ...
The Sappier Decision: Supreme Court of Canada Recognizes Aboriginal Right to Timber for Domestic Purposes and Clarifies Requirements for Establishing an Aboriginal RightOn December 7, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision in the cases of Gray v. R and R. v. Sappier and Polchies ...
As concerns the contents of the Act, we can say primarily that certain proven principle and institutes reappeared known from original Act No. 199/1994, Coll., on Public Procurement which Act No. 40/2004, Coll ...
Amendment (6) to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China was adopted at the 22nd Session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on 19 June 2006 and promulgated by President Hu Jintao on 29 June 2006. The Amendment, which entered into effect on the date it was promulgated, introduces penalties for a range of economic crimes ...
Comprehensive regulation of antitrust and unfair competition activities was established in Taiwan when the Fair Trade Act came into effect in 1992 (as amended, the ¡§Fair Trade Act¡¨). The regulatory framework is similar to civil law systems such as those used in Germany and Japan. Over the past 12 years, the Fair Trade Act has been amended three times, the most recent amendments being made after Taiwan¡¦s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2002 and taking effect in 2003 ...
Legislation and jurisdiction1. What is the relevant legislation and who enforces it?Competition is regulated under Competition Law no. 21/1996, as subsequently amended andsupplemented (the Competition Law), and under Competition Council regulations andguidelines. The Romanian competition legislation generally follows the provisions of EuropeanCommunity legislation ...
On October 31, 2006, the Court of Appeal rendered two key decisions on the issue of neighbourhood annoyances in Quebec. It is greatly to their credit that these two judgments represent a return to more reasonable legal bases on this issue. The decisions are Ciment du Saint-Laurent inc. / St. Lawrence Cement Inc. v. Barrette and Cochrane(2) (hereinafter “St. Lawrence Cement”) and Comité d’environnement de Ville-Émard (C.E.V.E.) and Michaud v ...
This month the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 ('the Act') comes into force. It is one of the Government's key legislative proposals for 2006, designed to promote productivity and ease the burden of regulation. The Act replaces the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 and is part of the UK Government's Better Regulation Action Plan 2005 ...
When the company was purchased, you will have entered into a Share Purchase Agreement. If you think that there might be potential for a warranty claim, you need to revisit the agreement to establish the basis of your claim and the manner in which it requires to be processed. The warranties in your agreement amount to assurances from the seller with regards to the condition of the business and outstanding liabilities at the time the deal was completed ...
In recent years, we have seen a surge in co-productions in Asia, whether in the form of co-productions between parties from different parts of Asia (which would normally involve both financial and production contribution from all parties), or co-productions between Western and Chinese parties ...
In December last year, the House of Lords handed down its judgment in the case of R (on the application of Laporte) v Chief Constable of Gloucestershire. The case considered the proper balance to be struck between an individual's Article 10 and 11 rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association under the European Convention on Human Rights ('ECHR'), and the Police's powers to prevent breaches of the peace ...
The CAT has confirmed, with the Court of Appeal's blessing, that it will not only srcutinise a regulator's decision but that it will also, in certain cases, substitute the regulator's decision with that of its own without remitting the case back to the regulator for a second bite at the cherry.The CAT's approach offers possibilities for both a complainant and for those companies subject to regulatory investigation ...
Following a year and half long market investigation, the OFT published on 7 December 2006 its report on the commercial use of public sector information (PSI). The report makes a number of recommendations aimed at increasing "fair" access to PSI, particularly where the public sector body holding the information is itself active in providing value added products to end users ...
The European Commission continues its interest in the energy sector in 2007 by imposing record fines on participants in a gas insulated switchgear cartel and carrying out unannounced inspections on several power transformer manufacturers suspected of participating in a cartel. Siemens and ABB confirm involvement in both investigations. A record fine of EUR 992 for a lifts and escalators cartel has also been announced ...
It is generally accepted that mentoring is important to the retention and professional development of attorneys – particularly minority attorneys. However, despite touting their mentoring programs, it appears that few, if any, law firms and corporations “get it right.” Assigning a mentor often results in a few lunches between two people who may or may not have anything in common ...
