As 2009 draws to a close, the dust is now settling on what has been a very busy few years for UK company law. The Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) represented the biggest overhaul and update of UK company law for decades, since its predecessor, the 1985 Act, was really only a consolidation of …
Continue reading “Companies Act 2006: is your house in order?”
The Ontario government recently announced several new regulations and programs to give effect to some of the major components of the Green Energy and Green Economy Act 2009 (the 2009 Act). The 2009 Act is designed to provide a legal framework for the establishment of an attractive investment climate for green power developers, generate certainty …
Continue reading “New opportunities under Ontario’s Green Energy Act 2009”
Given the relatively frequent occurrence of disputes over contracts for the supply of software and IT services, dispute resolution provisions are an important feature. In the recent case of Ericsson AB v Eads Defence and Security Systems Ltd [2009], the High Court had an opportunity to consider such provisions and their relationship with rights of …
Continue reading “Dispute resolution clauses in IT contracts”
Since 2007, Defra, the Environment Agency (EA) and the Welsh Assembly Government have been reviewing the waste exemptions from environmental permitting, a system that has been in place and largely unchanged for 15 years. In broad terms, certain waste activities, such as burning waste as fuel or spreading sludge on agricultural land, were exempt from …
Continue reading “Tidying up: revisions to waste permitting exemptions”
IN JIREHOUSE CAPITAL & ORS v BELLER & anor [2009] the parties were conducting settlement negotiations and although they had not expressly lifted the ‘subject to contract’ banner (in fact both sides used it fastidiously through their various exchanges) the High Court found that, on the facts, the parties’ negotiations could only be understood to …
In Airtours Holiday Transport Ltd v HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) [2009], the tax chamber of the first-tier tribunal decided that Airtours Holiday Transport Ltd (Airtours) was entitled to a credit for input VAT on fees that it had paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). HMRC argued that Airtours was merely a third-party payer and that PwC’s …
Continue reading “First-tier tribunal applies Redrow to accountancy services”
‘Even these metallic problems have their melodramatic side.’ (Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895, in premier))
To afford a home of your own is every person’s dream. But did you know that attachment proceedings can be initiated by the bank, in respect of your dream home, because your builder or developer has mortgaged the property to the bank and has defaulted in repaying the loan?
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a 110-acre free zone that was established by the government of the Emirate of Dubai in December 2004 to promote Dubai as a fully-serviced ‘onshore’ capital market, constitutes an autonomous jurisdiction within the UAE. It has an independent judicial system, with its own courts and an independent judicial authority, …
Continue reading “Litigating in the DIFC: some initial guidance for the unaware”
Previous articles have discussed the effective exercise of break clauses, thereby bringing the existing lease liability to an end (p63, IHL170) and former tenants being held to account for their historic lease liabilities (p56, IHL174). This article deals with how to minimise the cost of lease liabilities for premises that are currently in use, especially …
Private undertakings that engage in commercial transactions with public authorities located in the EU should be more aware of the risk of unlawful state aid. This is especially true for construction or development companies, as well as real estate funds, when participating in projects with public authorities involving the sale and/or finance of buildings or …
Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd & ors [2001] established a new defence for libel claims in which the story is in the public interest and the publisher acted ‘responsibly’. The Reynolds defence is designed to protect serious investigative journalists acting in good faith and reporting on matters of public interest. Even where allegations are false …