Latest updates
New bill to develop cabotage trade sent to Congress
Kincaid | Mendes Vianna Advogados- Shipping & Transport
- Brazil
- 16 September 2020
More than 20 years since the enactment of Law 9,432/97 (the Navigation Act), a major reform of Brazil's cabotage laws is underway. The federal government, after public hearings and debate, recently concluded the draft of the BR do Mar Bill and sent it to Congress for urgent review. This article examines the bill's main aims and the measures that it proposes to introduce.
Innovator visa: everything you need to know
Lewis Silkin- Employment & Immigration
- United Kingdom
- 16 September 2020
This article outlines everything that applicants should know regarding the Innovator visa, including with regard to the purpose and length of stay, endorsing bodies, endorsement criteria and genuineness and other considerations. The innovator route is open to applicants who are experienced businesspeople looking to establish a business in the United Kingdom and are the founders of their business, relying on their own business plans, among other things.
Supreme Court rules on compensation for illegal GPS tracking
Graf & Pitkowitz Rechtsanwalte GmbH- Employment & Immigration
- Austria
- 16 September 2020
The Supreme Court recently ruled for the first time on the issue of whether GPS tracking without an employee's consent warrants compensation for immaterial damage. Employers that use GPS tracking systems or similar control measures to monitor their staff should ensure that they agree the system's introduction with the works council or have each affected employee expressly consent to such a measure if no works council has been elected.
Time charters in inland river cruising and COVID-19: the situation under Swiss law
ThomannFischer- Shipping & Transport
- Switzerland
- 16 September 2020
The river cruise industry is without doubt one of the sectors that has been hit hardest by COVID-19 measures. Charterers and tour operators have been confronted with the fact that cruises which they have sold to their customers and want to continue to sell cannot be carried out as intended and the question arises as to whether they will still have to pay the contractual charter rate despite the current situation. This article provides an overview of the legal situation under Swiss law.
Positive action speaks louder than words – five principles for employers
Lewis Silkin- Employment & Immigration
- United Kingdom
- 16 September 2020
This article explores the legal limits of positive action in the workplace, including situations where it is permissible to give preference on gender or ethnicity grounds to make up for a historic lack of opportunity and what employers can and cannot do to improve diversity in their shortlists or hiring slates.
Termination prohibition, unilateral unpaid leave and short-time working allowance extended again
Gün + Partners- Employment & Immigration
- Turkey
- 16 September 2020
Shortly after the publication of Law 7252 in the Official Gazette, several presidential decrees were published, extending the termination prohibition, unilateral unpaid leave and the short-time working allowance. Following these developments, employers are prohibited from terminating employment contracts until 17 November 2020 and can impose unpaid leave without employee consent until 17 November 2020.
Paid parental leave rights introduced
Pinsent Masons- Employment & Immigration
- United Arab Emirates
- 16 September 2020
Following a change in the law, employees of businesses which operate in the United Arab Emirates are now entitled to five working days' paid parental leave in the six months following the birth of their children. The new law will support families in achieving a better balance at home, which will in turn assist companies in achieving a better level of equality in the workplace. Therefore, it is a win for families, working parents and companies.
COVID-19: proposal to extend lay-off period to 52 weeks
Homble Olsby | Littler- Employment & Immigration
- Norway
- 16 September 2020
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has proposed to extend the temporary lay-off period to 52 weeks from 1 November 2020. The extension will help the business community financially during an uncertain time. This implies that, among other things, the period in which temporarily laid-off employees may be entitled to unemployment benefits will be extended from 26 weeks to 52 weeks.
Is the 2020 Cannabis Bill a flower among weeds or a weed among flowers?
ENSafrica- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- South Africa
- 16 September 2020
The 2020 Cannabis Bill outlines the regulations under which adults may legally cultivate, possess and use cannabis for private use and recreational purposes. The bill also groups cannabis-related offences into four categories, which each carry different penalties. Even though South African adults can legally possess significantly more grams of cannabis than adults in various other countries, the cost of exceeding these amounts is far greater.
Objective necessity to rebox in parallel trade and implementation of EU Falsified Medicines Regulation
Westerberg & Partners Advokatbyrå Ab- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- Sweden
- 16 September 2020
In a recent case, the Patent and Market Court (PMC) elaborated on the concept of objective necessity to rebox medicinal products subject to parallel distribution in light of the implementation of the EU Falsified Medicines Regulation. The PMC's decision is a significant victory for originators, as it confirms that relabelling is still the main rule in Sweden and that reboxing remains the exception and requires evidentiary support of objective necessity by the parallel trader.
Sickness benefit period extended for employees at higher risk of COVID-19
Norrbom Vinding- Employment & Immigration
- Denmark
- 16 September 2020
The government and parliamentary parties recently passed a bill to provide sickness benefits to employees who are at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 or the relative of a person in the higher-risk group. The scheme originally applied to absences up to and including 31 August 2020, but the government and a majority in Parliament have now agreed to extend the scheme on the same terms up to and including 31 December 2020.
'Stale claims' on the way out?
RPC- Litigation
- Hong Kong
- 15 September 2020
In a recent case, the High Court allowed the defendants' applications to dismiss the plaintiff's two actions on the ground of abuse of process – in particular, given that no procedural step had been taken by the parties since 1 April 2009, just before the civil procedure reforms came into effect in Hong Kong. Although each application for dismissal based on abuse of process turns on its facts, this case demonstrates that egregious delay and inaction can prove fatal.
European Commission's VBER review – what does it mean for franchising?
Fieldfisher LLP- Franchising
- European Union
- 15 September 2020
The EU Vertical Block Exemption Regulation will expire on 31 May 2022 and the European Commission is reviewing its effectiveness to determine whether it should lapse, its duration should be prolonged or it requires revision to take account of market developments since 2010 (most notably with regard to online sales and online platforms). This article explores the process so far and examines what this review means for franchising.
WFOE shopping: how do Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen compare for establishing an insurance WFOE in China?
AnJie Law Firm- Insurance
- China
- 15 September 2020
Foreign insurers cannot directly sell insurance products in China unless they have successfully established a joint venture or wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) insurer in mainland China. In light of Shenzhen's recent pilots and reforms, it is now the most favourable destination for foreign insurers seeking to establish a WFOE in mainland China.
CIPAA: court has no discretion to set aside adjudicator's costs order
Gan Partnership- Litigation
- Malaysia
- 15 September 2020
The Construction Industry Payment Adjudication Act 2012 (CIPAA) was enacted to alleviate payment problems in the construction industry by allowing any payment dispute to be resolved speedily through adjudication. However, the losing party may opt to set aside or stay an adjudication decision pursuant to Sections 15 and 16 of the CIPAA. In a recent case, a dilemma arose as to whether the costs determined by the adjudicator in withdrawing adjudication proceedings could be challenged in court.
Concurrent duty to defend – a team sport
Theall Group LLP- Insurance
- Canada
- 15 September 2020
In a recent case, the Ontario Court of Appeal addressed three important elements of the duty to defend where there is concurrent coverage under two policies – namely, whether there was a concurrent duty to defend given the existence of an 'other insurance' clause, the obligation to pay ongoing costs and its allocation and the right to participate in the defence.
RBI notifies special framework for one-time restructuring of COVID-19 stress
AZB & Partners- Banking & Financial Services
- India
- 15 September 2020
The Reserve Bank of India recently announced a resolution framework for COVID-19-related stress to address borrower default pursuant to the stress caused by the pandemic without necessitating a change of ownership and without an asset classification downgrade modifying the existing framework. This article focuses on the key changes introduced for corporate loan accounts (ie, exposures other than personal loans).
Security for costs not ordered despite looming economic downturn caused by COVID-19
RPC- Litigation
- United Kingdom
- 15 September 2020
Evidence of the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the claimant's financial position was not enough to show an inability to pay adverse costs in a recent application for security for costs in the High Court. Although this decision demonstrates the court's willingness to consider the impact of the pandemic and the looming economic downturn in considering a party's financial viability for the purposes of a security for costs application, general evidence of the pandemic's economic impact will not suffice.
Distance insurance contracts: points to consider during pre-contractual phase
- Insurance
- International
- 15 September 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the usefulness of new communication techniques and provided greater legitimacy to digitalisation projects in the broader context of adapting to new consumer expectations. The insurance sector is not immune to these changes. This article provides a review of the provisions on distance insurance contracts, which reveals that insurers are subject to complex pre-contractual obligations to which particular attention should be paid prior to the conclusion of contracts.
Pandemic delay clause in Nordic marine loss of hire insurance
Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS- Insurance
- Norway
- 15 September 2020
In marine insurance, business interruption is covered by loss of hire (LoH) insurance. LoH is a separate insurance for loss of time caused by a casualty and linked to the hull and machinery insurance for the insured vessel or unit when it covers repair costs. The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed will not be considered a 'casualty' for an insured vessel or unit. However, for marine casualties caused by other perils, it is clear that COVID-19 has led and will lead to significant prolongations of repair periods.
