Procurement bans and the threat to self-reporting | DLA Piper

Legal Briefing

The existence of a mandatory exclusion from public procurement on a permanent and Europe-wide basis presents a real threat to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO)’s new culture of self-reporting. Richard Alderman, the current director of the SFO, has made it his mission in recent months to encourage companies to step forward and self-report any discovery …

Coalition politics: blue + yellow = green? | Burges Salmon

Legal Briefing

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.

Procedural aspects of customs seizures of counterfeit goods in Austria, Romania and Slovenia | Wolf Theiss

Legal Briefing

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 …

Coalition government’s plan for tax reform | Jones Day

Legal Briefing

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 …

Ofcom tackled over broadcasting rights | Charles Russell Speechlys

Legal Briefing

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, …

Contractual certainty: does Court of Appeal decision signal new approach? | Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP

Legal Briefing

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 …

Supreme Court enforces domestic limitation period on application for foreign arbitration awards | Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Legal Briefing

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 …

Credit lost: a Dutch Parliamentary committee’s report on the financial crisis | Boekel

Legal Briefing

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, …