It has been an eventful few months in Britain, the summer Olympics have been and gone, party conference season is over and suddenly Christmas is on the horizon once again.
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) have been equally busy, announcing new policies, further changes to the Immigration Rules and the piloting of a new priority postal scheme for Tier 2 visa holders. Continue reading “Recent developments at the UK Border Agency”
In the government’s recent consultation on the introduction of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs), one of the reasons given in favour of them was that DPAs would assist with the difficulties of establishing the necessary mens rea of many corporate criminal offences.1 The logic of this is questionable, but, given the current focus on DPAs as a potential enforcement tool, it is worth exploring why corporations are so difficult to prosecute under the current law, and the possible alternatives. Continue reading “Establishing the criminal liability of corporations”
Customers may often demand that suppliers’ charge prices that are the same as, or lower than, those charged to other customers. For some time, it has been assumed that these arrangements reduce supply chain costs and therefore benefit competition and consumers.
However, this may not always be the case, according to a report (the Report) issued in September by the UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT)1 into a broad category of ‘price relationship agreements’ (PRAs). Continue reading “A fresh look at price promises: the impact of competition law”
A new offshore transmission licensing regime (the regime) was introduced in 2009 that set out to radically change the way in which offshore transmission assets (ie those assets connecting offshore generating assets to the onshore electricity networks) were designed, built, funded and operated. Three years on, while many of the underlying mechanics of the regime remain broadly unchanged, there have been fundamental shifts in government policy that have led to huge practical changes in the regime’s impact on developers and investors. Continue reading “Offshore transmission: the enduring OFTO regime”
When existing, off-the-shelf products do not meet requirements, a customer must obtain a tailor-made product or system. The Court of Appeal has recently considered the implied terms applicable to a contract to design and install a bespoke system, restricting the obligation of the contractor to a duty to take reasonable care only. Although the decision may provide some comfort to suppliers of such systems, that may prove illusory: this decision is likely to lead to tighter contractual drafting and even where this is not the case, previous case law, including a House of Lords decision, may give rise to further dispute. Continue reading “Out of the frying pan: an analysis of implied terms in bespoke design contracts”
There has been much discussion about the Scottish independence referendum, due to be held in 2014, the relative merits of ‘Devo Max’ and ‘Devo Plus’, both of which would devolve greater powers to the Scottish Government, and the implications of a lower corporation tax rate north of the border, should the Scottish Government be given further tax powers. However, amid the sometimes heated debate – in Scotland, at least – over the potential consequences of Scottish independence or the ceding of greater powers to Holyrood, little attention has been paid to the significant tax changes that have already taken place in Scotland and the fact that the Scottish Government is currently in the process of setting up a Scottish tax system. Continue reading “Scottish taxes: while attention is focused on the forthcoming independence referendum significant changes have already taken place ”
Sanctions have been an important mechanism in the efforts – by the UN, EU and individual states – to promote international peace and security. Since the early 1990s, and following the experience of implementation of comprehensive sanctions against Iraq, increasing use has been made of so-called targeted sanctions – measures taken against named individuals or entities. The hope has been that targeted sanctions will be both more effective in achieving the desired outcomes, while at the same time reducing the adverse impact on the general civilian population in the target state. Continue reading “Targeted financial sanctions: what if the target is wrong?”
In addition to civil product liability claims, a company and its directors could also face criminal charges following the recall of an unsafe product.
In part 2 of this two-part series considering post-recall risks, Alison Newstead, partner with Shook Hardy & Bacon International, outlines the potential offences and penalties under the General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR) 2005 and the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. Continue reading “Risks following a product recall, part 2: criminal offences for the company and directors ”
In the recent case of Jackson v Dear & anor [2012], Briggs J considered, among other things, the extent to which traditional tests for implying terms into contracts have been superseded by Lord Hoffmann’s decision in the Privy Council case of (1) Attorney General of Belize (2) ECOM Ltd (3) Belize Telecommunications Ltd v (1) Belize Telecom Ltd (2) Innovative Communication Co LLC [2009]. This article focuses on that element of Briggs J’s judgment. It also considers the case of SNCB Holding v UBS AG [2012], in which Cooke J also considered the impact of Lord Hoffmann’s dicta in the Belizecase and made some interesting comments about pleading implied terms. Continue reading “To Belize, or not to Belize, that is the question: have the traditional tests for implying terms into contracts been superseded?”
Protecting trade marks through registration has long been accepted as good practice by businesses around the world. Registration, however, is only the beginning. Enforcement is equally important. In the context of this article, I am referring to enforcement against competing/offending trade mark applications, rather than competing/offending use.
A sound enforcement strategy should include a comprehensive trade mark monitoring (or watching) service that will enable competing/offending applications to be identified at an early stage and appropriate action taken. Continue reading “Trade mark watching: the importance of a considered strategy”
The Indian central bank – the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – is committed to implementing the Basel III norms in a phased manner in India, commencing from 1 January 2013, with Indian banks being required to comply fully with the new capital adequacy norms by 31 March 2018. Like elsewhere across the globe, banks in India will face several challenges in complying with these new norms, with the principal one being the raising of additional capital. In its annual report published on 23 August 2012, the RBI disclosed its estimate of the additional capital that is likely to be required.
The numbers are staggering – the public sector banks alone would require equity capital of about 1.4-1.5 trillion rupees on top of internal accruals, in addition to 2.65-2.75 trillion rupees in the form of non-equity capital. For major private sector banks the estimated requirement is new equity capital to the tune of 200-250bn rupees on top of internal accruals, in addition to 500-600bn rupees of non-equity capital. Continue reading “The banking sector in India: capitalising on reforms?”
‘Let America be America again , Let it be the dream it used to be , Let it be the pioneer on the plain, Seeking a home where he himself is free’ [Excerpt from Let America Be America Again, a poem by Langston Hughes]
Election years generally are not known for significant immigration legislation developments. President Barack Obama is hoping Hispanic voters will overlook his record on immigration and vote for him again. They gave him a majority of their votes in 2008 in key states such as Florida, Colorado, and Nevada. He had promised to make immigration reform a top priority in his first year and to legalise most of the unauthorised immigrants in the US (most of the estimated 11.5 million undocumented immigrants are from Latin America). However, the economic crisis, the stimulus plan and the healthcare overhaul took precedence over immigration. Continue reading “Legislative update and recent developments in US immigration”