As China speeds towards becoming an innovation-based economy, foreign businesses have no choice but to engage with the Chinese intellectual property (IP) system. However, uncertainties in the efficacy of that system mean that due diligence is more vital than ever for IP rights holders. The IP landscape in Asia, particularly China, is changing. On one …
Although the courts are often at pains to point out that insurance law is merely a subset of general contract law and should be applied without any concession or discrimination simply because the subject matter is insurance, there are, in fact, several aspects that are peculiar to insurance. An understanding of these anomalies will assist …
The EC Regulation on Insolvency proceedings does not make particularly easy reading.1 It is a Brussels-made law in the form of a Directive, which took effect in all EU member states (except Denmark, which opted out) on 31 May 2002. Making sense of its provisions involves understanding some slightly unfamiliar concepts, some containing a rather …
Continue reading “European cross-border insolvency: an overview and update”
On 24 March 2010, the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) published guidance (‘Implementing e-tendering’ (the Guidance)) on the implementation of e-tendering as part of the public procurement process. The release of the Guidance comes at a time when, in light of the current economic climate, Alistair Darlings’ spending cut targets in the 2010 Budget and …
Internationally, most countries require that those who pay interest, dividends and royalties to foreign recipients must withhold the income tax at the time of payment and must deposit the same amount with the treasury. Similarly, under s195 of the Income Tax Act 1961 (the 1961 Act) the Indian domestic tax laws cast a vicarious obligation …
Continue reading “Withholding tax on cross-border transactions: a judicial conundrum”
On 18 March 2010 the UK Border Agency (UKBA) announced changes to Tier 1 (General), Tier 2 (General) and Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) of the points-based system (PBS). These changes came into effect on 6 April 2010. These changes will give employers food for thought, particularly when transferring employees from overseas branches to the UK. …
The new zealous and robust approach adopted by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to combat corporate fraud and corruption offences has been increasingly described as the Americanisation of the organisation. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (equivalent to the SFO and Financial Services Authority (FSA) here) have made anti-corruption …
Continue reading “Who’s watching you? Rise of corporate monitoring”
The law of nuisance was first developed by the courts of England and Wales hundreds of years ago, long before the industrial revolution, at a time when England was predominantly a rural society. Throughout the intervening period there has been great change to our society and the law of nuisance has been adapted by the …
Continue reading “What a nuisance! Key environmental cases from the past year”
6 April 2006 saw the introduction of the Employer Financed Retirement Benefit Scheme (EFRBS), replacing the now defunct Funded Unapproved Retirement Benefit Scheme. An EFRBS is an unregistered (ie not registered with HM Revenue & Customs) pension scheme commonly used to provide retirement benefits to high-net-worth individuals (defined as those earning over £150,000 per annum …
Continue reading “EFRBS: attractive alternative for high earners?”
With the AGM season in full swing, this article takes stock of rule changes that public companies have been dealing with when presenting their accounts and holding their AGMs. Before looking at the changes it is worth remembering that the legal and governance regimes do not apply in their entirety to all companies. Company definitions …
During the boom times, Dubai and the UAE seldom experienced insolvency cases, so it became a widespread rumour that the UAE does not have an insolvency law. In addition, it had also been widely speculated that the UAE has a very archaic regime in which debts can lead a debtor to jail. By opposition to …
There is a situation more common than most people would think, particularly in the construction industry whereby parties commence work under a letter of intent, pending the negotiation and execution of a full written contract, setting out all the detailed terms and conditions governing contract performance. This often occurs where projects are time and cost …
Continue reading “Supreme Court warns: agree first, start work later”