Lord Justice Jackson, in his recent report on litigation costs (‘Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report’), lamented the under-utilisation of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) – and especially mediation – in civil litigation. Increasingly, the cost-effectiveness of mediation as a tool for dispute resolution is being recognised by the government. The added benefit of workplace …
As an increasing number of criminal offences are now covered by the confiscation regime, Caroline Lee (left) and James Moss (right) look at how the legislation has been used and provide guidance for in-house lawyers who may face the consequences Many jurisdictions have legislation that permits regulators to confiscate assets obtained by those convicted as …
In light of the recent economic developments in the gulf region and more specifically in the UAE, many disputes have stemmed out of contracts. To be in a position to claim damages under contracts (amongst other remedies offered by the UAE legal system) the claimant or the defendant should be more familiar with the contractual …
Access to environmental information often creates conflict between the rights of citizens to understand the environment in which they live and the legitimate confidential interests of businesses that provide services to public bodies. The Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004 came into force over five years ago, but there are still frequent skirmishes in the courts …
This article reviews the health and safety regulatory regime in Scotland, which has been transformed over the past year. It tracks the development of the dedicated Health and Safety Division, the move towards the pursuit of individuals for health and safety offences, and what this means for organisations and senior staff in Scotland.
Last year saw an increase in legislative activities concerning competition law in several central and eastern European (CEE) and south-east European (SEE) countries. The non-EU member countries in the region continue to harmonise their competition law regimes with international standards applicable in most jurisdictions in the EU. This should facilitate the competition law assessment for …
On 21 December 2009 the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) published two new consultations as part of the government’s response to the Killian Pretty Review.
The world of tax is quite interesting at the moment – to me, at least – because it brings into sharp focus the way that tax is used as an instrument of policy and what role it is playing in the field of social policy. It is hardly news that the state of public finances …
We have gone through turbulent times. To say that the world has changed in the past year and a half would be an understatement. Revered institutions have fallen like houses of cards and once untouchable reputations have been severely damaged by economic upheaval. Although there are some indications that life as we knew it has …
Supershield Ltd v Siemens Building Technologies FE Ltd [2010] takes us back to the nuts and bolts of contract law – to the question of remoteness of damage. A type of loss resulting from a breach of contract cannot be recovered if it is too remote. The law in this area has become unsettled in …
When we think of reputation, particularly corporate reputation, we are really thinking about trust in an organisation. A successful company must gain the trust of its employees, suppliers, shareholders and customers to help win a commercial advantage over its competitors and protect the value of its business. Losing stakeholder trust can result in the failure …
In a unanimous decision released on 21 January 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the discretion of a federal responsible authority (RA) to make decisions regarding the scoping of projects for purposes of the federal environmental assessment (EA) process. In MiningWatch Canada v Canada (Fisheries and Oceans) [2010], the court overturned a Federal Court …
