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In late January 2021, the Court of Appeal of the Hague considered in some detail whether to hold Royal Dutch Shell (UK plc) responsible for the actions of its indirect subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, in a long-running litigation relating to a significant oil leak in Nigeria.
Our round-up of recent developments in law and practice for in-house counsel.
The ICO is the UK’s independent regulator who oversees and enforces the UK’s data protection regime. From 1st January 2021 as the ICO’s website states “… the UK General Data Protection Regulation together with the amended Data Protection Act and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations will comprise the personal data protection legislation in the UK.” The Trade and Co-operation Agreement (ETCA) agreed between the UK and the EU on 24th December 2020 agreed a ‘data-bridge’ which provides for the continued free flow of personal data from the EU and EEA EFTA States to the UK until adequacy decisions are adopted, and for no longer than six months.
Finance Partners Danny Peel and Katie McMenamin and Senior Counsel Jamie Parish have written a chapter for Global Legal Insights on the fund finance market and liquidity solutions available to alternative asset fund managers.
Finance Partners Peter Hughes and Joseph Wren and Senior Associate Vanessa Kalijnikoff Battaglia have written a chapter for Global Legal Insights on some of the key structural and documentary legal issues that should be considered by private capital managers.
In December 2020, the UK Supreme Court handed down its much-awaited judgment in the case of Mastercard and others v Merricks (2020) ("Merricks"). This is an important ruling because it lowers the bar for obtaining permission for collective actions to proceed. If the Merricks action is allowed to go ahead, Mastercard will face a claim for a pay-out of over £14 billion to approximately 46 million UK consumers - which could open the door to many more incipient collective actions.
The evidence outlined by the UK Government includes allegations of forced sterilisation, extra-judicial detention and forced labour. The proposals are intended to "send a clear message that these violations of human rights are unacceptable, and to safeguard UK businesses and public bodies from any involvement or linkage with them".
Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic and the UK’s relationship with the EU post-Brexit have dominated the recent political and economic agenda, there are a number of important tax developments that those in the real estate sector should have on their radar for 2021.
Head of Incentives and Remuneration, Mahesh Varia, and Senior Associate, Claire Prentice, have contributed to the Legal 500 Country Comparative Guides. These guides set out a series of country-specific Q&As providing an overview of the employee incentives laws and regulations in each jurisdiction.
In Motorola Solutions Inc v Hytera Communications Corp Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 11 the Court of Appeal provides clarity on the "unambiguous impropriety" exception.
A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry.
This briefing was updated on 12 February 2021.
As one of the key sticking points in negotiations leading up to the trade deal agreed on 24 December 2020, the future of the UK's state aid regime has been uncertain ever since it was determined that the UK was to leave the EU. However, with terms now agreed between the EU and UK on the control of subsidies in each jurisdiction, some clarity has been provided for UK and EU businesses alike on this contentious issue.
Since 1 April 2020, UK banks issuing new shares and entities applying for banking licences must provide the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) with a legal opinion. We have experience of drafting these, and of other rule changes made by the PRA on the same date.
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the UK and the EU, which took effect on 1 January 2021, dedicates an entire chapter to digital trade arrangements, such as the supply of goods and services through online channels. This is the first time an EU trade agreement has included a specific chapter of this nature and marks the importance of digital trade between the two jurisdictions.
As the dust settles on the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and the majority of businesses have returned after a break of some kind at the end of 2020, the end of the Brexit Transition Period means that UK (and some EU and EEA) users of derivatives find themselves in a new regulatory environment.
The Supreme Court has recently published its long-awaited judgment1 in Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd [2020] UKSC 48, which provides guidance on whether an arbitrator's appointment to multiple arbitrations involving overlapping subject matter and parties may give rise to the appearance of bias on the part of the arbitrator, and the circumstances in which such appointments need to be disclosed to parties unaware of the overlap.
In the autumn of last year, the EU issued a proposed regulation on digital operational resilience which is likely to have broad implications, not only for EU financial entities, but also those which provide ICT services to such entities, including UK ICT service providers.
Despite the significant body of scientific research indicating that we are reaching a tipping point in the global fight against the damaging effects of climate change, global carbon output continues to climb. However, there is growing international consensus around the need for urgent action to reverse the effects of climate change.
The Australian superannuation fund Rest has agreed a settlement in a landmark case, acknowledging that "climate change could lead to catastrophic economic and social consequences and is an important concern of Rest's members", and that it is "important to actively identify and manage" that risk.