As a general rule, the English courts will not enforce an illegal contract or provide for any other remedies that arise out of it. However, in determining the consequences of illegal acts carried out pursuant to a contract, the courts will distinguish between those contracts that are said to be illegal at their formation, and …
The concept of an incorporated company having a separate existence and the law recognising it as a legal person separate and distinct from its members/shareholders was first recognised in the case of Saloman v Saloman & Co Ltd [1897]. Consequently, the legal framework pertaining to a company’s operations and obligations acknowledges separate legal existence as a key …
Continue reading “Recovery of tax by lifting the corporate veil”
The Immigration Rules are constantly changing and, with a number of amendments made throughout the year, even the UK Border Agency (UKBA) is struggling to keep up. It is important to remember how many people these changes affect – according to the 2011 census almost 8.5m people who live here were not born in England …
Continue reading “Further changes from the UK Border Agency”
In our November article, ‘Establishing the criminal liability of corporations’, we looked at how liability for criminal offences can attach to corporations, where the commission of the offence is attributable to someone who was at the material time the ‘directing mind and will’ of the company.1 This article looks at the related issue of how criminal …
Continue reading “Consent and connivance: the criminal liability of directors and senior officers”
The last six months of 2012 saw a number of interesting European competition law developments. In this article we summarise those which appear to us to stand out as raising issues of substance or procedure that will affect the application of competition law in the future. In summarising these key developments, we distinguish between developments …
Continue reading “European competition law selected highlights: the last six months of 2012”
The revised Energy Bill was published on 29 November 2012 after extensive consultation following publication of the government’s electricity market reform (EMR) proposals in December 2010. The Bill will push through fundamental reforms to the UK electricity market that will affect the entire sector in one shape or form.
It is generally understood that one of the key differences between Scottish and English remedies for breach of contract is the Scottish courts’ focus on implement (or performance) rather than damages as the primary remedy for breach. It is true that, in most cases, we do tend to end up arguing about damages, but this …
Continue reading “Kilted contractual remedies: compelling performance”
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has launched a global online consumer product recall portal that gives consumers, businesses and governments easy access to the latest information on products recalled from the markets in Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States. The portal may be accessed at: www.globalrecalls.oecd.org.
In Royal Bank of Scotland plc v FAL Oil Company Ltd & ors [2012], Mrs Justice Gloster held that the English court had jurisdiction to grant a worldwide freezing injunction and worldwide disclosure orders despite the defendants not having any assets in the jurisdiction and the substantive claims being pursued in the UAE.
On 31 October 2012, Premier Wen Jiabao presided over an executive meeting of the state council, at which draft amendments to the Trade Mark Law of the People’s Republic of China were deliberated and adopted.