Since the start of the financial 
crisis in 2007, there have been many 
public accusations of mismanagement 
and dishonesty made against those involved in the running of the UK’s banks and financial institutions. Over the past several months, concerns have been expressed about the sale of interest rate swap products to small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Similar allegations have been considered in a number of high-profile litigations in other jurisdictions, such as Germany and Hong Kong.

Pressure for action to be taken resulted in an initial review being undertaken by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), following which a number of UK-based banks including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest and the Royal Bank of Scotland plc (‘RBS’ or ‘the Bank’) reached agreement with the FSA 
to provide appropriate redress where 
mis-selling had occurred. However, a number of claims by SMEs had already been brought in the courts, with substantial damages being sought against banks for alleged mis-selling of these products. Guidance has been sought from the courts as to how the contractual arrangements entered into between the banks and their customers fitted with obligations under UK statute and European Directives.
 Continue reading “Swap mis-selling: 
Grant Estates Ltd 
(in administration) v The Royal Bank of Scotland plc
”

The added value that has been built in branded goods, usually through many years of investment by the brand owner, provides a powerful attraction and incentive to manufacturers of counterfeit goods who are harnessing the power of the internet and global supply routes in growing numbers.

Whilst the most obvious cost to manufacturers is loss of revenue and profits, there are other costs in terms of endangered jobs, brand protection and enforcement and defending potential product liability claims. 
 Continue reading “Counterfeit goods and product liability”

In the final report of his review 
of civil litigation costs, Lord Justice 
Jackson made it clear that he considers litigation to be too expensive and that 
the high costs of bringing or defending 
a claim in court effectively limit access 
to justice. He proposed that the court’s case management powers be expressly extended to allow judges greater control over the costs during the proceedings. 
This proposition is a dramatic and fundamental departure from the current practice, where parties usually only argue about costs after trial or after their case has settled.
 Continue reading “At what cost? The introduction of costs management in court proceedings”

The current copyright licensing system is struggling to cope with the digital age. There is an increasing division between what consumers expect to be able to do with products they have bought – such as adding the music on a CD to their MP3 collection or sharing the music with members of the family – and what the law permits.
 Continue reading “The copyright hub: moving copyright licensing into the digital future”

Bharat Aluminum Company v Kaiser Aluminum Technical Services, Inc [2005] (the Balco judgment) concluding that the Indian courts would not have jurisdiction with respect to arbitrations with ‘seat outside India’, either for the purposes of granting interim relief or with respect to entertaining a challenge to foreign arbitral awards in India.

With this decision, the Supreme Court of India has revisited the permissible extent of judicial intervention in foreign arbitrations and reinforced the fundamental principles of territoriality and party autonomy. Moreover, it has given credence to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (the 1996 Act), one of the objectives of which is ‘to minimise the supervisory role of courts in the arbitral process’.
 Continue reading “Judicial intervention in foreign arbitration: redefined by the Supreme Court of India
”