On 26 January, Ramsey J handed down a 468-page judgment in BSkyB Ltd & anor v HP Enterprise Services UK Ltd (formerly Electronic Data Systems (EDS) Ltd) & anor (Rev 1) [2010]. The decision, awaited since July 2008, saw Ramsey J uphold (in part) BSkyB’s claim that EDS had won the contract to supply BSkyB’s …
Continue reading “Death of the salesman? Implications of a landmark ruling”
Section 8 of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (the 1996 Act) empowers the court to refer matters brought before it to arbitration, in the event that the matter falls within the scope of an arbitration agreement between the parties (see the ‘Section 8’ box below). The Supreme Court of India has categorically held, …
The 14 jurisdictions of Central, eastern and south-eastern Europe (CEE and SEE), where Wolf Theiss concentrates its energies, are equally divided between seven members of the EU (Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia), and seven members of the Energy Community, established by the Energy Community Treaty in October 2005 (Albania, Bosnia and …
Continue reading “RES-electricity: navigate the regulatory labyrinth”
The Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act (BCIA) 2009 received Royal Assent last year. BCIA 2009 makes changes to border functions and several miscellaneous immigration matters. However, the most significant change it introduces affects how foreign nationals may acquire British citizenship in the UK. This article seeks to highlight these changes in some detail. Introduction An …
Nathan Peacey (left) and Davina Watson (right) discuss Jackson LJ’s findings and his suggestions for reform to control costs, changing the civil litigation landscape to promote access to justice through new management procedures IN 2008 AMID MOUNTING CONCERN among the judiciary at spiralling litigation costs, the Master of the Rolls commissioned Jackson LJ to undertake …
Continue reading “Jackson review: cost of litigation investigated”
It is a well-established practice that companies carry out merger and acquisition (M&A) due diligence using a suite of questions and documentary information requests aimed at establishing legal, financial and reputational risks. However, as enforcement trends in corruption are a relatively recent phenomenon, proper and thorough anti-corruption due diligence is often overlooked.
Lord Justice Jackson, in his recent report on litigation costs (‘Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report’), lamented the under-utilisation of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) – and especially mediation – in civil litigation. Increasingly, the cost-effectiveness of mediation as a tool for dispute resolution is being recognised by the government. The added benefit of workplace …
Continue reading “Workplace mediation: an overlooked method of dispute resolution”
As an increasing number of criminal offences are now covered by the confiscation regime, Caroline Lee (left) and James Moss (right) look at how the legislation has been used and provide guidance for in-house lawyers who may face the consequences Many jurisdictions have legislation that permits regulators to confiscate assets obtained by those convicted as …
Continue reading “Asset confiscation: the ultimate penalty?”
In light of the recent economic developments in the gulf region and more specifically in the UAE, many disputes have stemmed out of contracts. To be in a position to claim damages under contracts (amongst other remedies offered by the UAE legal system) the claimant or the defendant should be more familiar with the contractual …
Access to environmental information often creates conflict between the rights of citizens to understand the environment in which they live and the legitimate confidential interests of businesses that provide services to public bodies. The Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004 came into force over five years ago, but there are still frequent skirmishes in the courts …
This article reviews the health and safety regulatory regime in Scotland, which has been transformed over the past year. It tracks the development of the dedicated Health and Safety Division, the move towards the pursuit of individuals for health and safety offences, and what this means for organisations and senior staff in Scotland.
Last year saw an increase in legislative activities concerning competition law in several central and eastern European (CEE) and south-east European (SEE) countries. The non-EU member countries in the region continue to harmonise their competition law regimes with international standards applicable in most jurisdictions in the EU. This should facilitate the competition law assessment for …
Continue reading “Competition law developments in CEE and SEE countries”