This article will look at several developments within UK immigration law and procedures that have been implemented over the past two months. These include recommendations for changes to Tier 1 of the Points-Based System (PBS) by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), changes to requirements under Tier 2 of the PBS, both for sponsors and sponsored …
A consultation document, ‘Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes’ (the consultation document), has beenpublished in respect of proposed changes to the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes (DOTAS) regime, which are largely aimed at improving compliance and widening the scope of the types of transactions that are disclosable. It is clear that HMRC consider this legislation to …
Continue reading “HMRC sharpens its tools to combat avoidance”
On 3 December 2009, following an action brought by the European Commission under article 226 of the EC Treaty (now article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU) the European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed that Germany had failed to comply with its obligations under the European regulatory framework for telecommunications (the …
Continue reading “Commission victorious in ‘regulatory holiday’ action brought against Germany”
Although many definitions exist, broadly speaking ‘cloud computing’ is the outsourcing of specified IT functions via the internet (the cloud) to provide or receive services that would otherwise only be available if the end user had installed the appropriate hardware and/or software on desktops, or on local networks controlled by that organisation itself. Such services …
There is no legal definition of the term ‘twilight zone’ (perhaps derived from the cult TV series, the writer would like to think), which is now widely used to describe a period of trading when a company has, or is predicted to have, insufficient cash to pay its debts as they fall due. This might …
Continue reading “The twilight zone: legal issues for directors”
History shows that, at least since the 1950s, the likelihood that any authorised insurance company will not be able to pay its claims in full is reassuringly small. The level and composition of assets required by insurers, and their liquidity in particular, is carefully regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), as is the standard …
Continue reading “What can you do if your insurer goes bust?”
Most members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have enacted intellectual property (IP) laws either inherited from their colonial past or adopted later as part of a drive to modernise legislation. A shared desire to harmonise national laws in the region culminated in the adoption of the ‘ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property …
Continue reading “ASEAN regional co-operation in design and patent rights”
The recession has seen a dramatic increase in litigation. While potential claimants frequently shy away from such action in a more buoyant economy, reasoning that the time and money involved could be better spent on other opportunities, every penny is now fought for tooth and nail. The changed economic climate increases the pressure on lawyers …
Continue reading “Warranties and indemnities: what’s the difference?”
If you want your panel solicitor to‘get off the fence’, need to know when a cause of action accrues or wondered whether the judiciary live in the 21st century, the following cases from 2009 provide some really useful guidance. With professional negligence claims on the increase, whether you are giving or receiving legal advice, the …
Sir David Walker published his final review of corporate governance in banks and other financial institutions on 26 November 2009 (the Review). This followed a period of consultation based on initial draft recommendations that were announced in July 2009. While the Review’s final recommendations do not depart hugely from the July draft proposals, the consultation …
Two of Blake, Cassels & Graydon’s M&A partners have identified some noteworthy trends that they expect will have an impact on the Canadian M&A landscape in 2010.
There are times when one party to a contract will know that the other has no intention of performing, even though the time for performance has yet to expire. The courts have again recently confirmed that, in certain circumstances, and provided the ingredients of a repudiatory breach are present (see pp8-9, IHL174), the innocent party …
Continue reading “Courts clarify law on anticipatory breach”