Product liability and nanotechnology: an update

Legal Briefing

While the use of nanomaterials continues to grow, for some, concerns remain regarding the potential risks of using these materials and whether there is an adequate regulatory framework. Following up on an article published in The In-House Lawyer in May 2012, Sarah Croft, of Shook Hardy & Bacon International, assesses developments in the regulatory environment …

Is your Dutch joint venture shareholding safe and sound? | Boekel

Legal Briefing

For tax reasons, international joint ventures are often structured by using a Dutch private limited liability company. As such, the joint venture company is governed by its mandatory articles of association. Besides the articles of association, the joint venture partners (shareholders) usually also enter into a separate joint venture or shareholders’ agreement to regulate the …

Gigantic noticeboard or wall of graffiti? Online libel: are we lost in analogy? | Schillings

Legal Briefing

Following the recent High Court decision in Tamiz v Google Inc [2012], which closely followed the decision by HHJ Parkes QC in Davison v Habeeb [2011] just two months earlier involving the same defendant, you may have been mistaken for thinking that the law was for once attempting to move at the pace of technology. …

Privilege against self-incrimination: ‘an archaic and unjustifiable survival from the past’? | Macfarlanes

Legal Briefing

The recent case of Coogan v News Group Newspapers Ltd & anor [2012] is the latest in a string of claims arising out of the infamous phone-hacking scandal that dominated the media for most of 2011. In this case, the Court of Appeal considered the law of privilege against self-incrimination (PSI). In particular, it examined …

Options in shares: a clear investment option? | Amarchand Mangaldas

Legal Briefing

The legality of put and call options in India is a subject of intense speculation. It became the subject of controversy when the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) recently treated ‘in-built options of any type’ as debt; not permissible as foreign direct investment, only to delete the investor-offending phrase without much ado, a …

Oil and gas decommissioning | Burges Salmon

Legal Briefing

According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) statistics, within the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) there are approximately 500 oil and gas installations, 10,000 kilometres of pipeline and over 10,000 wells. As an increasing number of these installations become redundant due to the depletion of oil field reserves, challenging issues are raised …

Procter & Gamble clean up in interpretation of paper towels sales contract | Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP

Legal Briefing

For anyone who thought that the courts would be more willing to imply terms into contracts following the Privy Council’s decision in Attorney General of Belize & ors v Belize Telecom Ltd & anor [2009] and the Supreme Court’s decision in Rainy Sky SA v Kookmin Bank [2011], the judgment in Procter & Gamble Company …

Kilted class actions | Brodies

Legal Briefing

Class actions have been a hot topic in recent months due to a number of high-profile actual and threatened class actions south of the border. However, as things stand, class actions do not exist in Scotland. Would Scotland benefit from having a class action procedure and, if so, what form might it take?

Hot topics in commercial judicial review | Kingsley Napley LLP

Legal Briefing

Companies are increasingly using judicial review to protect valuable business interests. It is now routine for companies to challenge official decisions not only on the traditional grounds of illegality, irrationality and procedural unfairness, but also by invoking human rights principles and European law. When used effectively, commercial judicial review is a powerful tool. This article …