Credit lost: a Dutch Parliamentary committee’s report on the financial crisis | Boekel

Legal Briefing

On 10 May 2010, the Dutch Temporary (Parliamentary) Committee on the Inquiry Financial System (the committee), also known as the ‘De Wit Committee’ after its chairman, set up by the Dutch Parliament’s House of Representatives, presented its report on the first part of its investigation into the crisis in the Dutch financial system. This report, …

Defamation and confidence: three significant cases | Schillings

Legal Briefing

There have been several recent cases concerning the laws of confidence and defamation that address important procedural issues relevant to litigators practising in all spheres. This article discusses decisions by the Court of Appeal, a Queen’s Bench judge and a Master.

Adjudication: caught in the Act? | Bond Dickinson LLP

Legal Briefing

Anyone not involved in what might be regarded as the mainstream of the construction industry (whether as a building contractor or someone who regularly employs one) would be forgiven for thinking that a dispute resolution procedure introduced to rid the industry of some of its historical problems is of no relevance to their business.

Amendments to medical device regulations in Ireland | Byrne Wallace

Legal Briefing

The long-awaited revisions to the Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC (MDD) and the Directive for Active Implantable Medical Devices 90/385/EEC (AIMD) were adopted by the European Parliament on 29 March 2007. These amendments are contained in Medical Device Directive 2007/47/EC (the 2007 Directive), which was published in the Official Journal of the EU on the 21 …

Introduction to Middle East distribution and agency agreements | Rouse

Legal Briefing

The laws governing foreign ownership of companies in Middle Eastern countries are complex. While there are greater options today to allow international companies to do business in the Middle East (including the opportunity to establish wholly owned subsidiaries in free zones), one popular option is to appoint a local agent to sell goods or services, …

The ‘failing firm’ defence in difficult times | Holman Fenwick Willan

Legal Briefing

Given the current economic climate, competition authorities are expecting a possible increase in the use of the ‘failing firm’ defence. The doctrine provides potential opportunities for businesses to acquire competitors, which in normal circumstances would be regarded as anti-competitive. The basic rationale behind the doctrine is that since the failing firm would have left the …

ECJ rules on the validity of the Roaming Regulation | SJ Berwin LLP

Legal Briefing

On 8 June 2010, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rejected the attempt by various leading European mobile network operators (MNOs) to challenge the validity of a cap imposed by the EU on the roaming fees they can charge customers travelling overseas. From the point of view of these providers, price-capping regulation has effectively curbed …

Procurement bans and the threat to self-reporting | DLA Piper

Legal Briefing

The existence of a mandatory exclusion from public procurement on a permanent and Europe-wide basis presents a real threat to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO)’s new culture of self-reporting. Richard Alderman, the current director of the SFO, has made it his mission in recent months to encourage companies to step forward and self-report any discovery …

Coalition politics: blue + yellow = green? | Burges Salmon

Legal Briefing

The result of the 2010 General election has brought about one of the most radical shifts in British politics for over half a century. For the first time since the Second World War, two political parties, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, have united to form a formal coalition government.