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...

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...

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 ...

How does the communication within a team take place in the home office? Due to the increasing intensity of preventive measures against the spread of corona, more and more companies are closing down their locations and, where possible, relocating bus...

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This week, the Government intends to set out its “road map” to “unlock the economy” and get people back to work. Therefore, in the not too distant future (hopefully sooner rather than later for the majority), businesses will ...

Case C-216/17, Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato – Antiturst, Coopservice Soc. coop. arl In its judgment of 19 December 2018 (the &ldq...

The General Court of the European Union annulled on 14 February the European Commission’s decision of 11 January 2016 (Decision (EU) 2016/1699), in which it had found that Belgium’s excess profit exemption scheme was incompatible with EU...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

The United States (“US”) Government announced on 17 April 2019 that it would not renew a waiver to Title III of the US Helms-Burton Act 1996 (“Title III”) that had effectively prevented former owners of property confiscated f...

On 4 June 2019 the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf ruled in favour of Booking.com’s revised “narrow” Most Favourite Nation (“MFN”) clause (Case No. VI-Kart 2/16 (V)). The reactions were predictable. German hote...

On 3 June 2019, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) published a report1 by economic consultancy firm Lear, commissioned by the CMA, on merger control in digital markets (“Report”). On the...

The recent High Court decision in Amey Highways Limited v West Sussex County Council has clarified that abandoning a procurement will not automatically extinguish pre-existing causes of action.  Breaches of the procurement regulations which res...

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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 ...

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 ...

On 13 December 2019, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a revised Export Control and Sanctions Enforcement Policy for Business Organizations (Revised EC/S Policy),1 clarifying its prior guidance on voluntary self-disclosure requirements fo...

  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...

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...

Introduction Following the declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 30 January of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in response to the coronavirus crisis (please see our last briefing here), the vi...

Introduction Following the declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 30 January of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in response to the coronavirus crisis (please see our last briefing here), the vi...

On 4 March 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) fined four pharmaceutical companies for breaching competition law through market sharing and the exchange of competitively sensitive information relating to the supply of nor...

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...

Border Closure Update In an attempt to stem the virus outbreak in Europe, a number of European Union (EU) and Schengen zone Member States exercised their right to temporarily re-introduced border controls between themselves and other Member States. ...

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...

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....

  On 30 April 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) released a statement on consumer protection law in relation to cancellations and refund complaints. The coronavirus outbreak has seen a significant increase in consum...

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...

Generally speaking, where a contract sets down requirements for the service of notices under it, parties should comply with these strictly. A notice that fails to comply will be invalid. This has been established in a number of cases including the...

  Pursuant to Article 3:246 paragraph 1 of the Dutch Civil Code (DCC) pledgees have the power to enforce their right of pledge on receivables by claiming (direct) payment of the receivable. This power also includes the right to enforce rights o...

The case of So Sau Lai Connie v DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd [2017] HKEC 29 is a typical letter of credit fraud case. This case illustrates whether certain “red flags” may constitute discrepant presentation or a fraud indication. Background ...

Digital currency has been arousing a lot of interest for some time. In public administration circles - at least officially – so far, it has not been discussed very much. A few days ago though, the situation has changed. The National Bank of Po...

Companies trade in an increasingly global market. Despite this, the process of taking security in support of financial obligations remains essentially a question of the national law in the country where the assets over which security is granted are ...

Companies trade in an increasingly global market. Despite this, the process of taking security in support of financial obligations remains essentially a question of the national law in the country where the assets over which security is granted are ...

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...

The idea of shifting transactions into the digital space dates back to the beginnings of computer science. The development of blockchain technology has uncovered new possibilities for regulating contractual relationships. Parties to a contract now ...

Overview The Securitisation Regulation (Regulation) comes into force on 1 January 2019, establishes a general framework for securitisation and creates a specific framework for simple, transparent and standardised securitisation. The Regulation is a ...

Key Points • The self-dealing rule does not extend to a sale by a receiver to a party in which the mortgagee has an interest. • Although the duties of a receiver and a mortgagee are similar as to the Property, a receiver, unlike a mortgage...

Changes to the insolvency, civil and criminal procedural law The German Federal Government is currently planning various support measures for entrepreneurs, sole traders, other small, medium and large companies and credit institutions to mitigate t...

State recapitalisation aid to companies in the Covid 19 crisis 1. Overview | within a very short time, the German legislator passed a law to establish an Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) | the aim is to stabilize the companies in the real economy a...

Coronavirus and the related restrictive measures directly affect not only insolvency proceedings that are already in progress, but can also cause or accelerate financial problems that will lead to bankruptcy and subsequent beginning of insolvency pr...

On 20th April, the UK Government announced a £500m “Future Fund”, as part of its package of measures to support businesses in response to the coronavirus.  What is the Future Fund? The Future Fund is being set up with the aim ...