The result of the 2010 General election has brought about one of the most radical shifts in British politics for over half a century. For the first time since the Second World War, two political parties, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, have united to form a formal coalition government.
The war waged by intellectual property (IP) rights holders in the EU against infringement by shipments of goods has recently become more intense. These rights mainly relate to trade marks, design and copyright, and IP rights holders pursue their claims through the customs authorities of EU member states. For example, the number of shipments stopped …
The Coalition Agreement made between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, published on 20 May 2010, together with the Queen’s Speech delivered on 25 May 2010, contained several proposals for tax reform, which in the government’s view are aimed at creating a fairer and simpler taxation system. The tax measures that have been proposed widely reflect …
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The British Sky Broadcasting Group (Sky) and the Football Association Premier League (the Premier League) look set to challenge an order by Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, for Sky to reduce the price at which it sells premium sports content to its broadcasting rivals. The dispute arises from Sky’s exclusive rights to certain sports broadcasts, …
Many foreign companies registered in the UAE form joint ventures to execute projects, especially in areas like defence, oil and gas, engineering, and construction. However, most of them are unaware that the legal provisions generally governing a foreign company in the UAE are not applicable to unincorporated joint ventures (JV).
In Durham Tees Valley Airport LTD v BMI Baby Ltd & anor [2010], the Court of Appeal overturned a ruling that a contractual term was void for uncertainty and instead looked at the factual circumstances surrounding the contract. In doing so it found that one party had failed to perform its obligations, even though those …
Continue reading “Contractual certainty: does Court of Appeal decision signal new approach?”
Those learning a language will be familiar with the problem: a word in the foreign language looks and sounds similar to a word in a person’s mother tongue but, it turns out, has a completely different meaning. They are false friends. Take the French ‘actuellement’, which actually means ‘at the moment’. As in language, so …
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A primary advantage of international commercial arbitration as a means of resolving commercial disputes is the relative ease of enforcement in the many states that have adopted either or both of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the Convention) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model …
On 10 May 2010, the Dutch Temporary (Parliamentary) Committee on the Inquiry Financial System (the committee), also known as the ‘De Wit Committee’ after its chairman, set up by the Dutch Parliament’s House of Representatives, presented its report on the first part of its investigation into the crisis in the Dutch financial system. This report, …
Continue reading “Credit lost: a Dutch Parliamentary committee’s report on the financial crisis”
Social media has changed the way the public consumes information and digital news channels mean that stories break even more rapidly than they have ever done before. The upsurge in media outlets and the rapid development of new ways of consuming media through devices such as Smartphones (eg iPhone) has changed the way that fans …
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There have been several recent cases concerning the laws of confidence and defamation that address important procedural issues relevant to litigators practising in all spheres. This article discusses decisions by the Court of Appeal, a Queen’s Bench judge and a Master.
Anyone not involved in what might be regarded as the mainstream of the construction industry (whether as a building contractor or someone who regularly employs one) would be forgiven for thinking that a dispute resolution procedure introduced to rid the industry of some of its historical problems is of no relevance to their business.