December/January 2012

Recent well-known trade mark cases in Indonesia have revealed a somewhat worrying trend: a number, not by any means insignificant, of first instance decisions of the Commercial Court have been erratic, suffering from questionable reasoning. Many have been overturned on appeal. This situation differs markedly from that which prevailed in the not too distant past, …

Continue reading “A recent trend in well-known mark litigation in Indonesia
”

In the November 2011 issue of 
The In-House Lawyer we looked at the Court of Appeal decision in New Cap Reinsurance Corporation Ltd (in liquidation) & anor v Grant & ors (as members of Lloyd’s Syndicate 991 for the 1997 Year of Account) & anor [2011] and the decision, also in the Court of Appeal, …

Continue reading “The long arm of insolvency law disarmed”

In 2005, India was the ‘go to’ destination for conducting clinical trials. However, recent articles indicate that, since then, the growth trajectory of the clinical trials industry 
in India has suffered due to the lack of clarity in the regulatory framework governing these trials. In order to resolve the ambiguity under the current regime and …

Continue reading “Clinical trials: a step towards ironing out regulatory ambiguities
”

The UK government tightened its stance on illegal working in 2008, imposing larger fines on employers that are found to employ people with no right to work in the UK and increasing unannounced visits on businesses in an attempt to tackle illegal working. The introduction of the points-based system in November 2008 also imposed on …

Continue reading “Enforcement: prevention of illegal working and compliance under the points-based system”

There can surely be few enterprises carrying on a business in the UK who remain unaware of the provisions of the UK Bribery Act 2010 (the Bribery Act). That such enterprises may be prosecuted in the UK courts for their failure to prevent bribery committed on their behalf, however far flung the location, has been …

Continue reading “Global trends in anti-corruption: is the OECD levelling the playing field?”

In a recent speech on EU merger control, the European commissioner for competition, Joaquin Almunia, identified two areas where he considered changes were required to the current EU merger control regime. First he highlighted his intention to streamline the merger review system to enable the EU Commission to focus on those cases that:


Shale gas is a naturally occurring gas, consisting mainly of methane, that is found in thin layers of sedimentary rock known as shale. It is termed ‘unconventional’ natural gas because it is found in shale, which is less permeable than rock in which natural gas has historically been found and, as such, additional procedures are …

Continue reading “Shale gas: the 
energy saviour?”

Commercial contracts will very often be the subject of negotiation between parties, and during those negotiations things will be said or recorded, often to assure or comfort one of the parties, that do not appear in the terms of the written contract. Difficulties will inevitably arise where a party relies on such statements and there …

Continue reading “Collateral security: assurances for comfort can give rise to legally enforceable rights”

Barry Donnelly and Zoë Fuller discuss the extraordinary battle between JSC BTA Bank and Ablyazov. In numerous courts and with nearly 50 interim applications, the proceedings have created a substantial volume of new case law.

For our review, we have considered ten notable Scottish cases decided this year in the commercial and public law fields, which include the action brought by the administrators of Rangers FC, a landmark decision striking down an Act of the Scottish parliament, and different approaches to contractual interpretation.