Advertising in modern times is not just about reminding customers about products and services and boosting sales, it is also about taking the competition head on in a highly globalised and competitive market to create an identity that is distinct and appealing to the consumers.

While creative and interesting visuals do have an effect on the target audience, it may still not be enough to attract the customer in the midst of stiff market competition, thus resulting in aggressive advertising by traders, which may raise doubts on the truthfulness of the advertisers’ claims and which often tend to show the existing competing products in a negative light. Continue reading “Comparative advertising: an Indian snapshot”

David Cameron’s coalition government promised that it would reduce net migration to the UK to the tens of thousands and that is what it is attempting to do. The government recently announced a raft of changes to the immigration rules designed to fulfil this promise. Continue reading “Britain is open for big business”

Major projects, such as energy generation stations or waste treatment plants, can meet with fierce opposition, often on environmental grounds. Sometimes the opposition is led by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) voicing concerns over climate change or habitat destruction, sometimes the campaign is driven by local residents anxious about amenity issues, such as noise or odour pollution, and in many cases it is a combination of the two. Continue reading “Environmental challenges to major projects”

In the context of budgetary restrictions on the one hand, and the need for major economy-driving projects in the public sector on the other, public-private partnerships (PPPs) provide states with an excellent option for achieving this goal with minimum financial participation. Many European countries have so far been successfully implementing PPP structures in various projects. However, when it comes to the ever-changing and often difficult markets of central and eastern Europe (CEE) and southeastern Europe (SEE), PPPs are still considered to be a unique challenge for the governments and are in need of further development. Continue reading “PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN THE CEE/SEE REGION”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered his Budget on 23 March 2011, in which various tax amendments were announced. In his Budget speech, the Chancellor announced that two of the government’s ambitions for the British economy were to create the most competitive tax system in the G20 and to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business. Consequently, many of the Budget announcements are viewed as being favourable to business. The most significant changes in relation to business and potential investors are summarised in this article. Continue reading “Budget 2011”

This article is an assessment of practical and legal considerations arising from the operation of mutual legal assistance provided by the UK in connection with international criminal investigations.

Mutual legal assistance (MLA) arrangements enable one country to seek assistance in obtaining evidence located in another country for the purposes of criminal investigations or proceedings. In a time when criminal investigations, especially involving fraud or other financial crime, regularly have an international dimension, this type of request is becoming increasingly common. According to the Home Office, the UK has in excess of 12,000 requests at any one time. Continue reading “Mutual Legal Assistance: When your assistance is required”

Since the House of Lords decision in Salomon v Salomon & Co [1897], it has been a fundamental principal of company law that a company has a separate legal personality. This means that shareholders are not normally liable for the acts or omissions of a company. However, the court will ‘pierce the corporate veil’ where the corporate structure has been used for the purposes of a fraud or as a device to avoid an existing contractual or legal obligation. Continue reading “Puppet on a string”