By David S. Lorello The UK Bribery Act 2010 ("the Bribery Act") came into force on 1 July 2011, and represents a comprehensive revision of United Kingdom's anti-bribery laws. The Act is the product of a long period of UK government deliberation and consultation with public stakeholders, and has attracted substantial attention from legal commentators and government enforcement authorities. On the whole...

UPDATE (11-18-2013): The update only affects the Province of Quebec. The conclusion that limitation is stopped by the filing of a lawsuit only if such a lawsuit is filed before a Quebec court was based on a 1988 Quebec Superior Court Judgment. This has changed. The Quebec Court of Appeal, in a detailed and reasoned decision in the case of Sudaco S.p.A. vs. Connexions commerciales internationales C.T. inc. , rendered on...

By Hans-Josef Vogel Social media plug-ins, such as the Facebook "Like" button, have become ubiquitous on the internet. Their legal implications are yet not fully determined. Issues of both data protection law and fair trade matters are commonly disputed. Two recent German court decisions hold that even if a violation of data protection laws might be at hand, competitors cannot petition the courts to examine...

By Walter Stuber A new law for the Brazilian legal regime of debentures was established in June 2011, which introduced important changes to the Brazilian Corporation Law (BCL). 1 The law's aim is to improve and adapt the system to which debentures are subject, in order to bring more flexibility to the process of issuing debentures and to facilitate the formation of a dynamic secondary market for the negotiation...

By Luis Roquette Geraldes Angola has enacted a new law on private investment that will substantially impact future foreign private investment. The principle of caveat emptor applies, and prospective foreign private investors should be well aware of the potential pitfalls and shortcomings this law encompasses. Interpretational doubts are already being raised, some of which commentators and practitioners are hoping to...

By Fabian D'Aiello Regulations in emerging markets, particularly in Argentina, pose an ever-changing and difficult-to-assess scenario that can complicate investment decisions. In recent years, added to changes in regulations restricting certain types of investments (many of which are still under judicial review, thus aggravating the uncertainty regarding the applicable legal framework), Argentina has faced an increasing...

By Renato Conti Excerpt: Accessing low-cost electric energy is a pre-condition for most fundamental human rights recognized by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the "Declaration") and the Italian Constitution. Both providing affordable energy and managing the waste produced by industrial societies, however, is crucial to future generations. As such, developing renewable energy sources and...

By Robert Bond There are compliance challenges for EU businesses with the advent of the Cookies Law Revisions to the E-Privacy Directive, which came into force on May 26, 2011. The UK is one of only a few member states to have implemented the revisions into law. Even in the UK there is a one year "grace period" for businesses to comply. How to comply is a real challenge and the Information Commissioner's...

By: Lista M. Cannon , David M. Harris and Nicola Kelly In the latest wave of sanctions targeting Iran, the U.K. has taken steps independently of the UN Security Council and EU regulations to cut off all ties with Iranian banks. The new sanctions apply to all persons operating in the U.K. financial sector and place an additional compliance burden in an area that already requires stringent policies and procedures...

By: Stephen M. McNabb , Marsha Z. Gerber , Stefan Reisinger and Mary Beth Balhoff On November 21, 2011, the United States announced three measures designed to enhance sanctions on Iran. The President issued an Executive Order authorizing the Secretary of State to impose sanctions on foreign parties that provide goods, services, technology or support of certain value to Iran's energy or petrochemical sectors;...

View Media The U.S. State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls ("DDTC") has proposed new rules that would authorize exports to Australia, Canada and the UK of items controlled by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations ("ITAR"). The new Australia and UK rules would implement U.S. treaties with those countries that were entered in 2007 and ratified in 2010. For Canada...

A short discussion about a year long inquiry by the High Pay Commission as to executive remuneration is available on the BBC website . The full report can be found here . See here for the news article. Also, see here for the full business 'bottom line' about business ambition. Chair of the High Pay Commission Deborah Hargreaves and Dr McGregor of the firm Taylor Bennett highlighted the following...

View Media Under the headline "More responsible businesses can foster more growth in Europe", the European Commission (the "Commission") unveiled proposals for directives to amend several legislative measures on 25 October 2011, including a directive to amend the Transparency Directive (the "Amendment Directive"). Please click on the View Media link at the top of the post to view...

View Media The Financial Services Authority ("FSA") has confirmed that MF Global UK Limited ("MF Global UK") has entered the Special Administration Regime created under the Investment Bank Special Administration Regulations 2011 ("Regulations"). MF Global UK is the first investment bank to enter the Special Administration Regime. The decision to apply for special administration...

View Media On 19 October 2011, the European Commission (the "Commission") published a proposal to fund €50 billion worth of investment in the European Union's ("EU") transport, energy, and digital networks for the period from 2014 to 2020, with a view to strengthening links across Member State borders. Amongst the measures that were adopted by the Commission are a draft regulation...

View Media The proposals made by the EU Commission on 28 September 2011 regarding an EU directive on a common system of financial transaction taxation in the 27 Member States of the EU have been debated widely in the three weeks since they were presented. The presentation of the proposed Directive (the "Directive"), together with proposals to amend Directive 2008/7/EC concerning indirect taxes...

By Mark Muntean Excerpt: 2011 Emerging Issues 5996 Repatriation of Dividends from a Wholly Owned Foreign Subsidiary Taxable under California State Law SUMMARY: This Emerging Issues Analysis discusses the repatriation of earnings from controlled foreign corporation and the application of the earnings to current and prior year earnings. A secondary issue is also addressed concerning the allocation of interest...

View Media This week, the three federal banking agencies and the SEC approved for comment a proposed regulation implementing Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act, more generally known as the 'Volcker Rule.' The 298-page proposal has yet to be published in the Federal Register, but the agencies have already agreed to an extended comment period for the proposal "running until January 13, 2012 "given...

By: John C. Boehm, Jr. , Tim C. Bruinsma , Laura J. McMahon and Andrius R. Kontrimas View Media Download the seminar below and join in listening to a discussion of issues in cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and corporate financings. The panel, John C. Boehm , Tim C. Bruinsma , Andrius R. Kontrimas and Laura J. McMahon will identify some issues of concern to U.S. companies...

View Media With the widely-reported increase in FCPA enforcement by the U.S. DOJ and SEC, and the new UK Bribery Act recently taking effect, corporations are increasingly required to conduct anti-bribery due diligence and investigations across the globe. Yet EU data privacy laws often seem to be in direct conflict with U.S. regulator's expectations for credible investigations. Complying with U.S. and EU requirements...

By: Lisa M. Cirando Excerpt: 2011 Emerging Issues 5924 When Life Gives You Lemons: Insurance for Food and Beverage Claims I. Introduction Insurance claims involving food and beverages span a wide range. Food-borne illnesses caused by seemingly healthy foods, such as celery, spinach and alfalfa sprouts, have captured news headlines. 1 On occasion, products may be recalled from the marketplace, and...

By: Gregory D. Miller and Joseph D. Jean Excerpt: 2011 Emerging Issues 5918 Effect of Post-Loss Economic Factors in Measuring Business Interruption Losses: Insured's and Insurer's Perspectives Summary: This commentary discusses the developing body of case law analyzing how to measure business interruption losses where the insured's loss is affected by post-loss economic factors. In addition...

By: Lista M. Cannon and David M. Harris In response to the escalation in the level of violence perpetrated by the current Syrian regime against its people, the EU has recently implemented additional measures directly targeted at depriving the current regime of financial revenues and the support base necessary for maintaining the internal repression. This client briefing provides an update on the recent expansion...

On September 19, 2011, the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") continued to ease the sanctions imposed on Libya by issuing new General Licenses No. 7A and No. 8. In general, the new licenses allow U.S. persons to engage in transactions with the Government of Libya, its agencies, instrumentalities, and controlled entities and the Libyan National Oil Corporation ("NOC"...

View Media While the UK Government's blue-print for corporation tax reform was put forward in June 2010, key elements of the reform programme have become much clearer during the course of the Summer of 2011. The long awaited detailed and extensive consultation documents on the reform of the UK controlled foreign companies rules and the UK Patent Box have been published, alongside a consultation on...