2019 will go down as the year when concerns about plastic pollution became main stream and when really for the first time consumers started to demand action.  As the year ended retailers issued pledges of one type or another focusing on removin...

HEALTH AND SAFETY In the courts - cameras to broadcast from the Crown Court for the first time The government has announced new legislation which will permit the sentencing remarks of High Court and senior judges in certain criminal cases to be film...

On 6 February 2020, the Government published the Street and Road Works (Amendments Relating to Electronic Communications) (England) Regulations 2020, which come into force on 1 April 2020. The Regulations support the delivery and implementation of &...

In June 2019, an FSA report on the approach to regulatory enforcement and sanctions acknowledged that enforcement of food law has historically relied upon criminal sanctions. Whilst the report stated that “in relation to some lower level failu...

The Rivers State Government has asked it's Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice to auction all vehicles that were impounded for violating the state’s lockdown directive.

Paulinus Nsirim, the state's Commissioner for Information and Communications, in a statement on Thursday, said interested Nigerians should check selected Nigerian newspapers in order to place their bids.

The statement reads, “Government will deal decisively with the residents of these areas if they are found to default again. 

“Anyone parading exemption letters except the one issued by the governor is doing so at his or her own risk as such permits are invalid.

“The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice has been directed to auction all vehicles that violated the lockdown order.

“Members of the public who are interested to buy the auctioned vehicles are to watch out for details in The Sun, The Nation and Vanguard Newspapers.”

Sixteen patients receiving treatment for Coronavirus in Kano State have been discharged after recovering from the disease.

This brings the total number of discharged patients in the state to 22.

Mallam Muhammad Garba, Commissioner for Information in the state, made this known in a statement on Thursday. 

Garba said among those discharged were Prof Abdulrazak Garba Habeeb of the Department of Medicine, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Bayero University, who is also the Co-chair of the state’s Prevention Task Force on COVID-19, Dr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa, the state’s Commissioner for Health among others.

The commissioner pointed out that all the patients have tested negative for the disease after the two follow up tests and have therefore reached full recovery.

The Nigerian Civil Society Organisations have recommended modalities that would ensure citizens’ participation in the conduct of the proposed virtual public hearing on the controversial Infectious Diseases Bill.

The group said that public scrutiny of the bill can only be achieved through a broad-based engagements of stakeholders. 

In a statement jointly signed by 69 civil organisations on Thursday in Abuja, the groups stated that any legislative process that does not guarantee active and free participation of the people would fail and not be accepted.  

The statement noted that the proposed public hearing, which would be held via video conferencing be scheduled to hold between two to three days and representatives of organizations be allowed to make presentation for five-10 minutes.

The rights group also asked the lawmakers to provide information on the committee responsible for the coordination of the hearing.

According to the statement, "The committee responsible for organising these activities should conduct citizen outreach and share this information widely with the public through diverse media platforms. 

"This is critical to ensure broad awareness and participation and enhance legislative transparency" 

They said the virtual public hearing on the bill must be comprehensive, and conform with the dictates of the constitution. 

Eversheds Sutherland announces that it has made 38 partner promotions across its International and Europe network. A total of 16 of these promotions are female which is in line with its goal to achieve 30% female representation at partner level by 2...

Whilst each case will ultimately need to be assessed on its merits, we have set out below what we consider to be the key factors for all UAE creditors to take into account when deciding whether to start the enforcement process in India. These factor...

Coronavirus restrictions are causing significant ongoing disruption and difficulties for employers, pension trustees, administrators and providers. To assist our clients during these unprecedented times, we are introducing a weekly pensions clinic. ...

On April 15, Independent international research publication, the Legal 500 released the Europe, Middle East & Africa results of 2020. All of Eversheds Sutherland Ots & Co partners were ranked, including partners Maivi Ots, Tambet Toomela and...

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Partner in the fields of data protection and IT law. As an attorney and 2012 certified Senior Project Manager IPMA Level B, Markus Naef advises companies on legal safeguards and ex...

We are continually updating this guide in response to the gradual publication of official information by public authorities. Latest update: 5 May 2020, 17:00 (Restrictions on movement of persons, Mandatory quarantine when crossing borders, Children&...

Businesses across the world are suffering a variety of different losses as a result of the spread of, and public reaction to, coronavirus.  The answer to the question of whether these losses will be covered by your insurance policies is, as wit...

Summary In this case certain E&Y entities based in London were ordered to pay USD10.8 million for loss of earnings to a whistleblowing former auditor employed by an E&Y entity that was not based in the UK and not party to the proceedings. Th...

On 1 May, the FCA issued two sets of draft guidance which will be important reading for all firms involved in insurance arrangements and particularly insurers, intermediaries and premium finance lenders. As it considers that the delay involved in co...

As part of the State opening of Parliament, the Queen today set out the government’s plans for legislation over the course of the new parliamentary session.  Disappointingly, however, the Queen’s Speech contained...

By Wilmar Salim, Keith Bettinger, and Micah Fisher HONOLULU (June 21, 2019)—With a population of more than 30 million, greater Jakarta is the largest metropolitan area in Southeast Asia and one of the most densely populated urban regions in the world. The city is a major economic engine for Indonesia, accounting for approximately 25 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Yet urban poverty remains an intractable problem, and Jakarta’s infamous traffic congestion paralyzes commerce, leaches productivity, and contributes to air pollution and associated health hazards.

This is a summary only. Click the title for the full article, or visit www.EastWestCenter.org/Research-Wire for more.

By Anu Anwar HONOLULU (November 1, 2019)—Originally announced by Chairman Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to bolster China’s connectivity with the world. While the name Belt and Road Initiative implies two routes—a maritime road through the Indian Ocean and a land belt across Central Asia—in reality, BRI projects encompass multiple, interconnected global networks. The BRI combines old and new projects, covers an extended geographic region, and includes efforts to strengthen infrastructure development, investment, and cultural ties.

This is a summary only. Click the title for the full article, or visit www.EastWestCenter.org/Research-Wire for more.

By James H. Spencer, Sumeet Saksena, and Jefferson Fox HONOLULU (1 April 2020)—The current COVID-19 pandemic, which started in Wuhan, China, underscores what the public health community has warned about for more than two decades—the risk of viral diseases capable of spreading from animal to human hosts. The first outbreaks of “bird flu” (highly pathogenic avian influenza―HPAI, subtype H5N1) raised similar concerns 20 years ago―concerns that have persisted with the outbreak of SARS in 2002–2004 and COVID-19 today. New outbreaks of avian influenza are also still occurring in poultry and humans, primarily in Asia but also in other parts of the world.

This is a summary only. Click the title for the full article, or visit www.EastWestCenter.org/Research-Wire for more.

In Brief: According to the 2020 budget draft law n°7500, published on 14 October 2019 (the “Bill”), the validity of advance tax agreements (“ATAs”) granted prior to 1 January 2015 should now be limited to five years. Sinc...

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  Summary On 1 November HMRC published its much anticipated guidance on the taxation of cryptoassets for businesses. The guidance sets out HMRC’s view on the taxation of transactions involving cryptoasset exchange tokens (such as Bitcoin)...

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  What’s new? On 20 December 2019, HMRC published an updated version of its guidance on the taxation of cryptoassets for individuals. The guidance was updated to include a new section in respect of the location (situs) of exchange tokens ...

Corona tax deferrals in the light of the applicable law Since the publication of the guideline from the German Federal Ministry of Finance ("Bundesfinanzministerium", BMF) published 19 March 2020 (cf. our ...

  On 26 March 2020, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak proposed a package of tax measures relevant to UK businesses, large and small to help ease the pressures we face from the impact of COVID-19.  One of the measures in force, is the deferral of ...

The main support measures proposed by the government that affect the payment of taxes, fines and penalties On March 31, 2020, the State Duma and the Federation Council of the Russian Federation approved the Draft of Federal Law No. 862653-7, which i...

Tax relief for volunteers and donations in the Corona crisis The Corona crisis poses enormous challenges for the whole society. In order to mitigate the spread of the pandemic, a wave of helpfulness and solidarity has been raised to assist the fello...

Relief through extension of filing deadlines for employers in the Corona crisis In a letter dated 23 April 2020, the Federal Ministry of Finance has provided tax relief by extending the filing deadlines for preliminary wage tax returns (Lohnsteuer-A...

Retroactive reduction of advance tax payments for 2019 ... Due to the coronavirus crisis, many taxpayers can expect their income to collapse considerably in 2020, leading to losses that can be offset against tax payments. Such losses can be off...

As part of the EU’s general clampdown on certain forms of aggressive tax planning, Directive 2011/16/EU (commonly known as DAC6) will soon require taxpayers and intermediaries across the EU to start reporting information in relation to certain...

Article 49 of the EC Treaty prohibits restrictions on the freedom to provide services within the EU; Article 43 similarly prohibits restrictions on the freedom to establish businesses. Together with a prohibition on the grounds of nationality, these...

The Government has today implemented new regulations (The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010) to outlaw the compiling and use of trade union blacklists. The regulations also aim to stop trade union...

A growing number of successful injunctions against trade unions to halt strikes is attracting increasing media attention. Arguments will undoubtedly continue about whether such injunctions are undemocratic, or simply reflec...

There are over 900 European Works Councils (EWCs) providing for pan-European workplace consultation involving cross-border restructuring, mergers and transfers. While employers with EWCs have differing views on their success and relevance to date, l...

Employers are being urged to do more to look after the mental health of their workforce with the publication today of the outcome of the Stevenson/Farmer review of mental health and employers. Estimating that poor mental health costs employers betwe...

In 2008 the German Bundestag has passed the so-called "Risikobegrenzungsgesetz" (Risk Limitation Act) which aims to countervail risks involved with financial investments in general and certain investment practices in particular. The amendments aim e...

The FCA has today published a statement for financial services firms with guidance setting out its expectations for effectively responding to the Covid-19 outbreak. Consistent with existing regulatory requirements, the FCA expects all firms to have ...

Attempts at digital transformation, which have sometimes been slow in Tunisia, are now forced and obliged to succeed in order to guarantee continuity of work, economy and even life during the country's lockdown. The digital transformation is a stron...

Emirates Trading Agency LLC v. Prime Mineral Exports Private Limited [2014] EWHC 2104 (Comm) Facts Emirates Trading Agency (Emirates) agreed to buy iron ore from Prime Mineral Exports (PME) but failed to collect all the order. PME claimed liquid...

Buyers of immovable property must think very carefully before paying deposits. If for some reason the sale is cancelled, the purchaser remains liable for transfer duty on the deposit that is forfeited to the seller (in terms of section 5(2)(a) of th...

(1) PST Energy 7 Shipping LLC and (2) Product Shipping and Trading S.A. v (1) OW Bunker Malta Limited and (2) ING Bank N.V. [2015] EWHC 2022 (Comm) In a well-publicised case, the High Court has ruled that shipowners are obliged to pay OW entities un...

The Court of Appeal’s decision in The South West Strategic Health Authority v Bay Island Voyages [2015] EWCA Civ 708 provides guidance on the application of the Athens Convention 1974 in contribution claims against carriers. The Facts On 26 Au...