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Eversheds advises Windmill in successful defence of Court of Appeal challenge to retail planning permission

R (on the application of Tesco Stores Limited) v Forest of Dean District Council and (1) JD Norman Lydney Limited (2) Asda Stores Limited (3) Windmill Limited (4) MMC Land & Regeneration Limited1 The Court of Appeal, upholding a decision of the ...




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Food / Retail Sector Update: European Commission President calls for review of supermarkets’ power

On 9 September 2015, in his first State of the Union address, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called for a review of the power wielded over food markets by groups of retailers and the “need to break some retail oligopolies&rd...




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Food / Retail Sector Update: European Commission President calls for review of supermarkets’ power

On 9 September 2015, in his first State of the Union address, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called for a review of the power wielded over food markets by groups of retailers and the “need to break some retail oligopolies&rd...




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All change on business rates: 2017 revaluation, “Check Challenge Appeal” and other developments

The last two years have brought challenging times for ratepayers and there is little respite on the horizon. With the 2017 Revaluation looming, rateable values are likely to increase substantially throughout large swathes of the country. Together wi...




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French Competition Authority puts model agencies’ price-fixing practices in the spotlight

On 29 September 2016, the French Competition Authority (l’Autorité de la concurrence - the “Autorité”) imposed a fine of EUR 2.4 million on 37 model agencies and their main trade association, the SYNAM, in relation to...




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E-commerce: Commission probes suspected competition infringements in consumer electronics, videogames and hotel sectors

The European Commission has launched three investigations into suspected breach of the competition rules by companies in the consumer electronics, videogames and hotel sectors.  The consumer electronics and videogames probes come out of the Com...




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Competition and Markets Authority publishes updated retail mergers commentary

Introduction The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”), the authority responsible for operating and enforcing the UK merger control regime, has published its updated Retail Mergers Commentary (“New Commentary”).1 The CMA ...




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German competition authority issues guidance paper on resale price maintenance in the retail food sector

In July 2017, the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) published a detailed guidance paper (the “Guidance Paper”) on resale price maintenance (“RPM”) in the retail food sector. The purpose of the paper is to expl...




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UK CMA’s Ping fine appeal may clarify vendor online sales ban law – lawyers

Aysha Fernandes, legal director in Eversheds Sutherland’s Competition, EU & Trade group comments on the ramifications of UK CMA’s Ping fine appeal. This article was written by PaRR, the leading provider of inside track on comp...




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Coronavirus - Block Exemption for the Retail Property Sector – South Africa

The Covid-19 Block Exemption for the Retail Property Sector (the “Regulations”) were published on 24 March 2020 in response to the declaration of the National State of Disaster. The Regulations exempt certain agreements or practices with...




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Shipping: the Privy Council’s interpretation of permissive language in arbitration clauses

Anzen Limited & Another v Hermes One Limited In the case of Anzen Limited v Hermes One Limited [2016] UKPC 1, the Privy Council considered the use of permissive language in an arbitration clause.  Specifically, the Council considered what o...




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Shipping: New BIMCO "SUPERMAN"

It is becoming increasingly common for a buyer to engage a third party service provider to supervise the construction of a new vessel on its behalf. However to date there has been no standard form contract upon which the buyer and supervisor could b...




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Shipping: a wider scope for without prejudice privilege?

Introduction It is always important to establish whether or not communications with the opposing party in a dispute are truly without prejudice (“WP”). If a communication is deemed not to be protected by WP privilege, a party exposes the...




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Rail regulation: ORR concludes its initial consultation on the 2018 Periodic Review of Network Rail

Background - The 2018 Periodic Review The Office of Rail and Road (“ORR”) has recently published its conclusions (the “Conclusions”) following its initial consultation in relation to the creation of the 2018 Periodic Review ...




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Interrupting the ticking clock in respect of a counterclaim

It has always been imperative that a claimant keeps at the forefront of its mind that time is ticking and that any claim it wishes to make must be brought in time. The respective time limit may be set out in statute, such as the Limitation Acts or o...




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Alstom Transport UK Limited v London Underground Limited: Automatic suspension lifted

On 27 June 2017, the court ordered the lifting of the automatic suspension in the case of Alstom Transport UK Limited v London Underground Limited [2017] EWHC 1521 (TCC). The resulting judgment includes some interesting comments on the correct test ...




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ORR opens consultation on changes to complaints handling

Background The Office for Rail and Road (“ORR”) has opened a consultation on its proposals to introduce a voluntary binding Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) scheme for the resolution of consumer complaints in the rail s...




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Update: The Competition and Markets Authority’s consultation on proposed guidance for the evaluation of competition issues in passenger rail franchise awards

Background The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has recently published draft guidance on its approach to assessing rail franchise awards under its merger control powers (the “Draft Guidance”)1. The guidance has been ...




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Airlines Face Turbulence Over Compensation Payments Following Supreme Court Decision

Intro / Summary The Supreme Court has refused to grant Emirates permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision in the joint case of Gahan v Emirates and Buckley and ors v Emirates meaning the Court of Appeal’s decision to award comp...




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Tunisia: The Prime Minister launches strategic pipeline of over 30 new large-scale PPP projects at International Investor Forum

Following close consultation with IFI's including the IFC, World Bank and EBRD, Tunisia has launched a review process to aid with the structuring and implementation of new PPP projects. Eversheds Sutherland was privileged to have been spec...




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Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline Update (Autumn 2019) - Government provides update on rail enhancement projects seeking DfT funding

Background On 16 October 2019 the Department for Transport (“DfT”) issued its “Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline Update” for Autumn 2019 (the “Enhancements Pipeline Update”). A copy of the Enhancements Pipeline U...




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Operational Resiliency for Financial Institutions

The operational resilience of retail banks operating in the United Kingdom has come under increased scrutiny following a number of high-profile IT failures and cyber-attacks. Regulators have shown a willingness to impose significant penalties for IT...




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Have you read the draft EDPB guidelines for the use of video devices (eg CCTV)? Perhaps you should – if you use such video devices

Quick Read Many readers may have chosen to skip looking at the Guidelines that the EDPB published for consultation recently, if you are one of them, and you routinely use CCTV (or other similar devices) within your business – you may want to h...




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Floodgates open on class actions in data protection

Court of appeal overturns High Court judgment in Lloyd v Google LLC [2019] EWCA Civ 1599 Court of Appeal judgment The Court of Appeal has given the go-ahead for a representative claim to be served on Google LLC in the U.S. for alleged data breaches,...




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ICO in action: Ban on unsolicited marketing calls to members of pension schemes

This speed read follows on from our briefing in November 2018 in which we explained that the government had proposed a change in law to implement a ban specific to pensions related cold calling.  At that time it was estimated that 10.9 million ...




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A review of the Online Harms White Paper

In response to the surge of harmful and illegal content being spread online, the Government currently deliberates legislation for 2020 to establish a regulatory framework that will attempt to make the UK “the safest place in the world to be on...




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Speed read: Useful November 2019 guidelines on controller, processor and joint controllership concepts from the European Data Protection Supervisor

Summary On 7 November 2019 the EDPS issued guidance on how to determine who is a controller, processor and joint controller. The EDPS is an independent supervisory authority whose primary objective is to ensure EU institutions and bodies respect the...




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New regulations permit the Central Bank of Ireland to limit the rights of data subjects under the GDPR

Precis: In this briefing, we look at the new regulations permitting the Central Bank of Ireland to limit the rights of individuals under the GDPR. On 30 October 2019 the Data Protection Act 2018 (section 60(6)) (Central Bank of Ireland) Regulations ...




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Commencement of the Protection of Personal Information Act – 1 April 2020

President Cyril Ramaphosa has received a request from the Information Regulator Chairperson to declare that the remaining provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) commence on 1 April 2020. If the President acts on the Informa...




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Further Judicial Recognition of Bitcoin as “Property” Following Ransomware Attack

The Court in AA v Persons Unknown [2019] EWHC 3556 (Comm) (17 January 2020) ordered injunctive relief against unknown persons accused of extorting ransom payments in the form of Bitcoin worth $950,000 from an insurance company, following a cyber-att...




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Coronavirus - The use of Personal Data in connection with Covid-19 – Hong Kong

As a general rule of data privacy protection in Hong Kong, personal data should be used only for the original purpose for which the data was collected, or a directly related purpose. One exception is where the data user obtains the consent from the ...




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Punjab Police Sub Inspector and ASI Jobs 2019 PPSC Apply Online

SUB INSPECTOR (BS-14) (OPEN MERIT) 432 POSTS ON REGULAR BASIS Punjab Police has announced Sub Inspector and Assistant Sub Inspector Jobs 2019




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CAT rejects Electro Rent appeal against procedural fine

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has dismissed an appeal by Electro Rent against a fine of £100,000 imposed for failing to comply with the terms of an interim order (the “order”). Interim orders are a key tool employed by the ...




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FCA imposes fines in first competition enforcement case

Competition partner Julia Woodward-Carlton, who acted for one of the main parties on this case, considers the decision and potential implications of the case in this article. The Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) has today issued ...




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Case C-260/17, Anodiki Services EPE: interpreting the scope of the “employment contracts” exemption under EU procurement legislation

Case C-260/17, Anodiki Services EPE1: interpreting the scope of the “employment contracts” exemption under EU procurement legislation Introduction The judgment relates to a request for a preliminary ruling made by Greece’s Council ...




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UK competition regime set to become stricter and more burdensome for businesses post-Brexit

The UK’s departure from the EU is set to lead to a significant change to the UK’s overall approach to competition law. Currently, the UK is required to retain close alignment with EU competition law, which includes respecting the Europea...




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UK Competition law – Is it fit for the digital economy?

With the rapid growth of the digital economy, a number of competition authorities, as well as governments1 are in the process of assessing whether their competition enforcement tools are fit for the digital economy. In the UK, the Government commiss...




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First fine imposed for obstructing CMA inspection

On 20 March 2019 the Competition and Markets Authority (‘CMA’)  imposed a fine  of £25,000  on the guitar supplier Fender Musical Instruments Europe Limited (‘Fender Europe’) for failure to comply with a ...




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Greater EU Competition Enforcement needed in the Digital Era

As we have recently reported, a number of competition authorities and governments are in the process of assessing whether their competition enforcement tools are fit for the digital economy. In the UK, on 13 March 2019 a specially commissioned panel...




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FCA’s Market Study into General Insurance Pricing Practices: Pricing interventions proposed to tackle competition concerns

The FCA has published its interim report in relation to its market study into how general insurance firms charge their customers for home and motor insurance (Interim Report). The FCA has provisionally found that the market is not working well for ...




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The Italian Competition Authority’s enforcement against so called “IBAN discrimination” practices

Introduction The Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) has recently adopted a harsh approach imposing quite significant fines on those operators who accept direct debit payments only to the extent that their customers are holders of an ...




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Court of Appeal upholds CMA's online sales ban decision in the golf equipment sector

  On 21 January 2020, the Court of Appeal (‘CoA’) upheld the Competition Appeal Tribunal (‘CAT’) judgment, finding that Ping Europe Ltd (‘Ping’) breached competition law by prohibiting its retailers from sell...




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Highest EU court confirms pay for delay settlement agreements may be abusive and restrict competition by object or effect

On 30 January 2020, the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) confirmed that an agreement in settlement of a patent dispute in the pharmaceutical sector may constitute a restriction of competition by object or effect, as well as an abuse o...




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The European Commission’s public consultation on the reform of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Regulation

On 11 March 2020 the European Commission (Commission) launched a public consultation on  possible reforms to the Generalised Scheme of Preference (GSP) Regulation (EU Regulation No. 978/2012 of 25 October 2012) (GSP Regulation). As the GSP Regu...




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Coronavirus – Podcast series: Competition and Coronavirus - Global

Join us in a series of podcasts, where we address the key issues impacting the global Competition landscape as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Episode 1: Competition and Cooperation during Covid-19 This podcast is a panel style discussion mode...




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Competition Tribunal adopts “structured methodological approach” to penalties

Introducing Hong Kong’s four-step fining framework… On 29 April 2020, Justice Godfrey Lam, President of the Competition Tribunal, handed down judgment in relation to the fines to be imposed on the parties in the W. Hing and Others case....




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Coronavirus - Communication on relaxation of competition law - Italy

Introduction The coronavirus has forced antitrust authorities both at EU and national level to adopt an exceptional approach on competition rules. At an EU level, on 8 April the European Commission approved specific guidance to guide companies in t...




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Regulating firms’ culture - The increasing focus by financial regulators internationally on supervising firms’ culture

Introduction Financial services firms’ corporate governance and risk cultures is a ‘hot’ topic with financial regulators globally. Regulators have noted that serious corporate governance and conduct failings of financial services f...




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HKMA publishes DLT Whitepaper 2.0

On 25 October 2017, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”) published the Whitepaper 2.0 (“Whitepaper 2.0”) on Distributed Ledger Technology (“DLT”). This Whitepaper 2.0 provides practical advice on over 20 gove...




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Rescue Culture - MK Airlines Limited (In Liquidation) (the “Company”) - Administration expenses, misfeasance and priority

Key points: • In a judgment supportive of the rescue culture in English insolvency, the court has reaffirmed its flexible approach to the application of insolvency provisions and willingness to look at the practical effect of transactions in re...