On 7 May 2010, Austria and Serbia signed a double taxation agreement (DTA) with an additional protocol concerning certain articles of the DTA (business profits, interest and exchange of information). The DTA and the protocol will become applicable as of 1 January of the tax year immediately following the year in which both countries have …
Continue reading “Tax treaty signed between Austria and Serbia”
English law generally respects the sanctity of contract and the courts are reluctant to void terms just because they are onerous to one party. An important exception to this is penalty clauses.
In early January 2010, the media was full of headlines about a landmark verdict and Dubai’s first foreclosure, which was supposed to ‘open the floodgates’ for other similar actions. The orders for foreclosure were issued by a Dubai enforcement judge in favour of Barclays Bank plc in its case against various borrowers who had taken …
Continue reading “Dubai mortgage law: much ado about nothing”
The Scottish Government is on a mission. That mission is to encourage the (appropriate) use of compulsory purchase powers in Scotland. Its aim is to aid the delivery of economic recovery, social change, efficient and effective regeneration, and, of course, sustainable economic growth. No mean feat then.
Squatting HAS BEEN A PHENOMENON in the Netherlands since the 1960s. Vacant property is occupied by persons without a valid legal basis. In practice, it has proved difficult for the owner to have squatters removed from the property. This will now change, as the Squatting and Vacancy Act (the Act) came into force on 1 …
Continue reading “The Squatting and Vacancy Act: good news and bad news”
The recent trend in the media for reporting on greed and corporate failure has led to a hive of activity in media circles for unearthing the next business scandal. With the rise in social media and the growing number of instances in which the media are courting ‘insiders’ with a story to sell or an …
Continue reading “Employer v employee… and the rest of the world via the media”
the plurilateral Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is currently being negotiated by Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, the US and the EU, in response to the ever-increasing international trade in counterfeit goods. It is hoped that the large emerging economies, often the source of counterfeit goods, will ultimately sign up to …
Imagine the situation: your company has a significant claim against a supplier for breach of contract and/or negligence. Following the original tender process you are aware that the supplier has the benefit of liability insurance, you know the identity of the insurers and the levels of cover available. You suspect that the supplier itself is …
Continue reading “Do strangers to an insurance contract have a right to claim against the insurers?”
A fashion retailer and wholesaler, part of an Italian group, had 11 retail shops and 14 concessions in department stores in the UK, through which it sold garments supplied from Italy by its parent company. The company got into financial difficulties and considered a restructuring involving the planned closure of some of its stores and …
Continue reading “Guarantee stripping in company voluntary arrangements: landlords fight back”
In SAS Institute Inc v World Programming Ltd [2010], the High Court had to consider whether the production of software that emulates the functionality of an earlier software program, but without there being any copying of the source code, amounts to copyright infringement. Following its judgment in July 2010, the High Court has referred several …
Continue reading “High Court refers questions to ECJ in ‘software clone’ case”
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), which is aiming to make India the global knowledge hub, has proposed to establish 14 premier educational institutions (innovation universities). What will distinguish these world-class educational institutions from the existing ones, be it the state, central, private or deemed universities, will be the emphasis on research and innovation, …
Continue reading “Innovation universities: fresh direction for India’s education sector”
Over the years, the European approach towards immigration has been somewhat fragmented. Considering the different attitudes and policies at play among member states, it is nothing short of a miracle that the free movement of European nationals within the EU was ever achieved. However, this liberal policy still sits in contrast to the thornier management …