Section 8 of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (the 1996 Act) empowers the court to refer matters brought before it to arbitration, in the event that the matter falls within the scope of an arbitration agreement between the parties (see the ‘Section 8’ box below). The Supreme Court of India has categorically held, …
Lord Justice Jackson, in his recent report on litigation costs (‘Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report’), lamented the under-utilisation of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) – and especially mediation – in civil litigation. Increasingly, the cost-effectiveness of mediation as a tool for dispute resolution is being recognised by the government. The added benefit of workplace …
Continue reading “Workplace mediation: an overlooked method of dispute resolution”
Logistics service providers need to have an effective contingency plan to deal with the prospect of their retailer customers experiencing severe financial distress, defaulting on payments, or going into administration or liquidation. Although good credit control is essential, especially given the recent disappearance of several household names in the retail sector, this article will focus …
Continue reading “The effective use of liens to protect against the collapse of corporate customers”
For over 100 years property and liability insurance law has largely been governed by the Marine Insurance Act 1906, a product of careful thought and drafting that codified the previous 200 years of case law. Times have changed, however, particularly in the speed of communications, the availability of information and the development of the law. …
The European system for granting patents has been a great success. A European patent, applied for via the European Patent Office (EPO), leads to a bundle of national patents that are identical in form but enforceable in each jurisdiction separately. However, while the process for granting patents has been successful, the need for separate enforcement …
Continue reading “Delays in European patent litigation: is the tide turning?”
Several high-profile data security breaches have made the headlines in recent times involving the loss of personal information relating to hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals. In many cases the information was stored on unencrypted laptops that were either lost or stolen.
When we think of reputation, particularly corporate reputation, we are really thinking about trust in an organisation. A successful company must gain the trust of its employees, suppliers, shareholders and customers to help win a commercial advantage over its competitors and protect the value of its business. Losing stakeholder trust can result in the failure …
Continue reading “Preventing reputation meltdown: brand, stakeholder and media”
We have gone through turbulent times. To say that the world has changed in the past year and a half would be an understatement. Revered institutions have fallen like houses of cards and once untouchable reputations have been severely damaged by economic upheaval. Although there are some indications that life as we knew it has …
On 21 December 2009 the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) published two new consultations as part of the government’s response to the Killian Pretty Review.
This article reviews the health and safety regulatory regime in Scotland, which has been transformed over the past year. It tracks the development of the dedicated Health and Safety Division, the move towards the pursuit of individuals for health and safety offences, and what this means for organisations and senior staff in Scotland.