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Parliamentary approval delayed to 2014 Provisional agreement between the EU Council, Commission and Parliament was reached back in July 2013 on the draft text of three new EU public procurement directives but these draft directives are still awaitin...

The UK Government has published the eagerly awaited draft regulations to implement the new Public Sector Directive. Consultation will be open until 17 October 2014. You can respond to: transposition@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk The Consultation Documen...

A Councillor has successfully applied for judicial review of a decision by his own council to vary a contract for the development of a mixed retail, residential and transport hub in Winchester. The High Court ruled that the variations to the contrac...

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The establishment of more open public procurement systems, that is, procurement systems which offer foreign suppliers access to the award of public contracts on the basis of no less favourable terms than to domestic suppliers, constitutes an essenti...

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Following the June 2016 referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, the UK government triggered article 50 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on 29 March 2017, thereby commencing the two-year formal process that will ultim...

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Since April 26, 2019, contractors, to whom a public contract or concession has been awarded, have the possibility to issue an electronic invoice and transmit it to the contracting authority. This novelty is the result of the transposition of the Eur...

The foreign minister asks why the bodies of three Indonesians were thrown overboard.

After insisting for weeks it would take no more refugees, Bangladesh relents and rescues hundreds.

A record decline in greenhouse gas could be followed by a larger increase as the economy rebounds, energy experts warn.

The man’s aunt demands that authorities bring his killers to justice.

An approval would bring the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act a significant step closer to becoming law.

Those sent home will continue to be monitored by local officials for signs of ill health, though, provincial officials say.

New law requiring vehicles to have license plates led to traffic fine bonanza.

Nguyen Quang Lap was found dead on May 8 only three days after beginning a six-year term in prison.

“The Chinese Communist Party must end its pattern of bullying Southeast Asians out of offshore oil, gas, and fisheries,” said Adm. John Aquilino.

Hackers used Aria-body, an intrusive new tool, to attack computers in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Brunei, report says.

Temporary protection against creditors In these uncertain times, companies are confronted with a severe decline in their turnover, often resulting in cash-flow problems. Through the judicial reorganization procedure, these companies can apply for te...

Even in COVID-19 times, companies (and their directors) should not unnecessarily jeopardise the rights of their creditors and the continuity of their activities. Think about paying dividends, and making unnecessary costs, despite the financial probl...

For companies that are financially stressed or distressed, a sale of the company or its business and assets might be the best exit route for its stakeholders. The desire to exit through a sale is often the preferred method for financial creditors wh...

In these uncertain times, there is a good chance that your company will be confronted with a contracting party that is in the process of judicial reorganization, or that you have initiated this procedure yourself. What are the consequences of this p...

Belgian company law is characterized by an internal and external liability of directors. Internal liability means that directors are liable to the company for any errors committed in the performance of their duties. External liability, on the other ...

Introduction Earlier this year, Luxembourg’s financial services regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (the “CSSF”) announced a year-long transitional period, to take effect from the date of a no-deal Brexit...

On 26 November 2019 the FCA announced that it was using its product intervention powers to ban the promotion of so-called “speculative mini bonds” to retail consumers. The ban will come into force on 1 January and will last for 12 months...

A conversation is beginning around the future of the UK’s regulatory regime post-Brexit, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) talking about adopting a broader outcomes-based approach and is even questioning disclosure levels. Jonathan Master b...

The European Commission published new Regulations on harmonised requirements in respect of sustainability-related disclosures and benchmarks contributing to sustainable finance (EU/2019/2089) (the “Disclosure Regulation”) in the Official...

On 16 October 2019, the FCA published their feedback statement FS19/6 on Climate Change and Green Finance[1]. This feedback statement summarises the responses from stakeholders to the Discussion Paper (DP18/8) on Climate Change and Green Finance[2] ...

  Introduction Regulation (EU) 2019/2089, known as the Low Carbon Benchmarks Regulation, (the “Regulation”) was published in the Official Journal on 9 December 2019 and entered into force on 10 December 2019. The Regulation amends ...

Introduction For many years the FCA has considered whether to apply an overarching standard of care that should be applied to authorised firms. In July 2018 they concluded that there was not “a sufficient basis for making changes to primary l...

Sell-side reluctance to accept delegation of reporting under the Securities Financing Transaction Regulation (“SFTR”) is causing a headache for buy-side firms.  If buy-side firms are unable to establish delegation arrangements they ...

On Friday 14 February 2020, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”) published the ISDA Collateral Agreement Interest Rate Definitions (the “Collateral Rate Definitions”). The Collateral Rate Definit...

The Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) sent a letter to all UK regulated asset managers on 27 February 2020 (the “Dear CEO Letter”), to encourage the sector to prepare for the cessation of the sterling London interbank o...

As the countdown to the end of LIBOR continues, regulators are increasing the pressure on the market to prepare and proactively engage with their clients to ensure a smooth transition to a new risk-free rate. Failure to do so will expose firms to th...

Cross-border fund marketing arrangements into the UK are poised to be significantly amended when the current post-Brexit ‘transition or implementation period’ (“TIP”) comes to an end on 31 December 2020.  Retail funds&rs...

The High Court looks at the definition of highway ‘maintainable at public expense’ in the recent case of Barlow v Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council (2019). The case at first instance The claimant, Deborah Barlow, brought a claim against...

Barlow v Wigan Council [2019] EWHC 1546 (QB) The claimant, Deborah Barlow, brought a claim against the defendant, Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council for a trip which occurred on 21 September 2018. The claimant was walking along a path in Abram Park,...

  Practice and Procedure Patel and another v Patel and others [2019] EWHC 2643 (Ch) This case looks at the obligations of defendants under CPR Part 16.5 when preparing their defences and very clearly sets out that defendants: (a) must say which...

Practice and procedure Wickes Building Supplies Ltd v Blair [2019] EWCA Civ 1934 An employee had an accident at work. The court had to determine whether the claimant should be allowed to rely upon a witness statement which had not been filed and ser...