The first hearings for the official UK Covid-19 Inquiry are fast approaching – though less quickly than originally anticipated, with the start date now delayed to Tuesday 13 June. Although public hearings are yet to get under way, the Inquiry has nonetheless had a busy February and March, with preliminary hearings for Modules 1 (pandemic preparedness and resilience), 2 (political and administrative decision-making) and 3 (impact on the healthcare sector) all taking place ...
On 31 August 2022, the UK COVID-19 Inquiry (“the Inquiry”) opened its second Module. Module 2 will examine the political and administrative decision making of the UK and devolved governments, with a particular focus on early 2020 ...
We look at the legal framework within which the dispute between the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and the Cabinet Office over the former Prime Minister’s WhatsApp messages and diaries has developed, and possible consequences for the Inquiry depending on the outcome. What has the Cabinet Office been asked to provide? On 21 April 2023, Baroness Heather Hallett, Chair of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry (‘the Inquiry’) issued a Section 21 Notice to the Cabinet Office (‘the Notice’) ...
The UK Corporate Governance Code (the Code) is undergoing a review by the Financial Regulatory Council (FRC) in the UK. A consultation process was announced by the FRC earlier this year, with a view to making changes to the Code to reflect the changing business environment in the UK ...
A report published on 25 January 2024 by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) reaches the conclusion that contrary to the situation in the USA, aggregate employer market power has not increased in the UK in recent decades. Economic theory identifies that where employer market power is high (typically because in an area there are only a few major employers and limited other choices for workers), the workers are paid less, employers employ fewer workers and production output is lower ...
The UK Government has this week announced what would be the biggest shake-up of the competition and consumer protection policy landscape for the last 20 years. On 20 July 2021 the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published a consultation document setting out its proposals for sweeping reforms of the UK’s competition and consumer protection law regimes and inviting responses by 1 October 2021 ...
As we emerge from the pandemic, UK cities have a positive future – from the growth of digital broadcasting in Manchester to the positive future for inward investment; from what is needed to preserve our high streets to excitement around the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The UK Cities Investor Guide is a bi-annual publication produced in partnership with EG, and tackles some of the key challenges and opportunities facing the real estate investment market ...
The UK is home to some of the most innovative and cutting-edge startups in the world, especially in fields like AI, semiconductors and quantum computing. These startups have the potential to transform various industries and sectors, from healthcare to finance to defence ...
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (“UIF”) has shed some light on what will happen to existing and outstanding COVID-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (“TERS”) applications and payments, particularly over the festive season. We discuss the must-knows for employers below ...
There’s an interesting trade mark dispute under way about UGG. It touches on a range of IP issues – geographical indications, generic terms, country-of-origin brands and Chinese manufacture.Many readers will know that UGG is a sheepskin boot originating from Australia. UGG has apparently been around since the1930s, when it was created to deal with the cold winters in Australia (the Blue Hills region of New South Wales apparently can get cold) ...
In the recent Appeal Court case of Airtel Uganda Limited v. Uganda Revenue Authority, the provisions of section 15 of Uganda’s Tax Appeals Tribunal Act (TAT Act) and their wider implications came under scrutiny. In the case at hand, Airtel Uganda Limited (Airtel), a telecommunication company, lodged an objection to an assessment raised by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) on 25 February 2004 with the Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) ...
In the case of White Sapphire Ltd/Crane Bank Ltd vs the Commissioner General of the Uganda Revenue Authority (“URA”), the Ugandan High Court considered the notoriously controversial anti-avoidance provisions, in terms of which the benefits of a double tax agreement (“DTA”) concluded by Uganda would not be available where at least 50% of the underlying ownership of the resident of the other contracting state is not held by individuals resident in such other contr
In response to efforts to curb the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Ministry of Health published regulations providing for the closure of various places including bars, schools and institutions of higher learning, bars, cinema halls, shopping malls, arcades, hardware shops, all shops and stores selling non- food items, salons, gymnasiums, massage parlours, hotels and lodging houses, motor repair workshops and garages, with a few exceptions ...
The Minister of Health has invoked powers under the Public Health Act, (Cap. 281) to issue rules and orders aimed at combating the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Uganda as below: The Public Health (Notification of COVID-19) Order, 2020 Under this Order, Covid-19 is declared a notifiable disease to which the provisions on prevention and suppression of infectious diseases under the Public Health Act (Cap. 281) apply ...
As the country grapples with the coronavirus (COVID-19), various directives are being issued by different authorities. It is incumbent on the authorities that the measures are issued within the law. Enterprises that endeavour to observe these measures or wish to take their own measures also need to ensure that their actions are within the law. There are many legal issues to bear in mind. We set out key issues below. The Public Health Act (Cap ...
Ten years ago, Uganda’s National Disaster Preparedness and Management Policy predicted that “an influenza pandemic may occur when a new influenza virus appears against which the human population has no immunity. With the increase in global transport, as well as urbanization and overcrowded conditions in some areas, epidemics due to a new influenza virus are likely to take hold around the world, and become a pandemic faster than before” ...
Uganda has enacted the Investment Code Act, 2019 (the “Code”). The previous Code was enacted in 1991 and was long overdue for amendment given the changes in approach to attracting investment and the glaring weaknesses in the old Code. The new Code strengthens the Uganda Investment Authority (the “Authority”), establishing it as a one-stop investment centre, and also provides for the financing and auditing of the Authority ...
The Ugandan Insurance Regulatory Authority (“IRA”) has released clarification on its recently published bancassurance guidelines. Following the publication of the Insurance (Bancassurance) Regulations, 2017, the IRA published guidelines on the licensing of financial institutions as bancassurance agents ...
March 16, 2022 By Braeden Mansouri and Alicia Guerra On February 15, California’s preeminent institution of higher education, UC Berkeley (“UCB”), began emailing student applicants that UCB may be forced to withdraw admissions offers as a result of a recent California Court of Appeal decision ...
The UAE has introduced new administrative sanctions on all entities that fail to comply with the requirements of Cabinet Decision 58 of 2020 concerning the Regulation of Real Beneficiary Procedures (Decision 58 of 2020). Issued on 23 May 2021, Cabinet Decision 53 of 2021 (Decision 53 of 2021) empowers the Ministry of Economy and the relevant licensing authorities in the UAE to administer various penalties on violators of Decision 58 of 2020 ...
According to the advocate general’s opinions in C-434/15 Elite Taxi and C-320/16 Uber France, Uber does not provide information society services, but local transport services which may be regulated by EU member states. It has been more than ayear since we signalled that the Court of Justice of the European Union would need to resolve the legal classification of the services provided by Uber ...
The fate of Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) may be headed to the voters. Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash have unveiled the Protect App-Based Drivers and Services Act, a $90 million ballot initiative targeting AB 5. AB 5, signed by Governor Newsom on September 18, 2019, is expansive legislation that has potentially significant impact on California employers. AB 5 broadly adopts a new test for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee, with far-reaching implications ...
