Heralded as the biggest overhaul of fire safety legislation in 40 years, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (FSO) 2005 was introduced in April 2006 with the intention of streamlining existing legislation, reducing the burden on business and improving safety by allowing fire authorities (the bodies responsible for fire brigades in each area) to concentrate …
Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd & ors [2001] established a new defence for libel claims in which the story is in the public interest and the publisher acted ‘responsibly’. The Reynolds defence is designed to protect serious investigative journalists acting in good faith and reporting on matters of public interest. Even where allegations are false …
Private undertakings that engage in commercial transactions with public authorities located in the EU should be more aware of the risk of unlawful state aid. This is especially true for construction or development companies, as well as real estate funds, when participating in projects with public authorities involving the sale and/or finance of buildings or …
Previous articles have discussed the effective exercise of break clauses, thereby bringing the existing lease liability to an end (p63, IHL170) and former tenants being held to account for their historic lease liabilities (p56, IHL174). This article deals with how to minimise the cost of lease liabilities for premises that are currently in use, especially …
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a 110-acre free zone that was established by the government of the Emirate of Dubai in December 2004 to promote Dubai as a fully-serviced ‘onshore’ capital market, constitutes an autonomous jurisdiction within the UAE. It has an independent judicial system, with its own courts and an independent judicial authority, …
Continue reading “Litigating in the DIFC: some initial guidance for the unaware”
To afford a home of your own is every person’s dream. But did you know that attachment proceedings can be initiated by the bank, in respect of your dream home, because your builder or developer has mortgaged the property to the bank and has defaulted in repaying the loan?
‘Even these metallic problems have their melodramatic side.’ (Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895, in premier))
IN JIREHOUSE CAPITAL & ORS v BELLER & anor [2009] the parties were conducting settlement negotiations and although they had not expressly lifted the ‘subject to contract’ banner (in fact both sides used it fastidiously through their various exchanges) the High Court found that, on the facts, the parties’ negotiations could only be understood to …