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On 20 July 2022 the Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, announced a package of measures designed to tackle the increased use of SLAPPs in the courts of England and Wales.
The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Russia/Ukraine conflict, and rising inflation and interest rates have exacerbated a slowdown in the world economy. Many borrowers have availed themselves of low-cost debt in the decade since the financial crisis, and some may encounter challenges in servicing or refinancing this debt in a harsher economic climate.
The UK Government has published its much anticipated Financial Services and Markets Bill (the Bill), previously touted by the former Chancellor as "Big Bang 2.0". The Bill as introduced may or may not be that, but it certainly includes a large number of substantial measures that will effect a major overhaul of the UK's regulatory framework for financial services.
Since the Supreme Court's rulings in Vedanta Resources Plc v Lungowe [2019] UKSC 20 ("Vedanta") and HRH Emere Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell [2021] UKSC 3 ("Okpabi"), much has been written about the potential impact these decisions may have on UK-domiciled businesses with foreign operations and, in particular, how they will assist claimants who wish to initiate large-scale group litigation.
In AIC Ltd v Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria [2022] UKSC 16 the Supreme Court has re-stated the principles to be applied when a judge is asked to revisit a judgment or final order before it has been sealed by the Court, where there has been a change in relevant circumstances in the meantime.
Since the Government introduced the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (the "Act") in March this year, there has been uncertainty as to how overseas entities (or those who deal with them) should prepare for the introduction of the new Overseas Entities Register (the "Register"). Some of those questions have now been answered, as we explain below.
The EU's Platform on Sustainable Finance ("PSF") – an expert group established to advise the European Commission – recently published a helpful draft report on so-called "minimum safeguards" ("MS") under sustainable finance legislation.
A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry.
Welcome to our series of podcasts focusing on international employment law.
The two-pillar corporate tax reform plan forms part of the OECD's project tackling base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). Whilst Pillar One – which aims to align taxing rights more closely with the location of customers – will only apply initially to MNEs with annual global turnover above €20bn, Pillar Two is expected to have a wider impact on businesses.
A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry.
On 31 May 2022, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a supervisory briefing (the Supervisory Briefing) addressed to EU national competent authorities (regulators) to promote "common supervisory practices" on the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and other pieces of EU legislation concerning financial sustainability. This was closely followed on 2 June 2022 by a publication of the European Supervisory Authorities – one of which is ESMA - (ESAs) which sets out clarifications (the ESA Clarifications) on the draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) under SFDR.
On 15 March 2022, the UK's new Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act (the "ECA") received Royal Assent. The legislation contained a number of important provisions, including the introduction of a new 'Register of Overseas Entities' and reforms to unexplained wealth orders.
Glencore has indicated that it will plead guilty to seven counts of bribery in connection with its oil operations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and South Sudan. The Serious Fraud Office opened its investigation into Glencore's activities in 2019 and alleges that the commodities giant approved the payment of over $25m in bribes for preferential access to oil.
The European Parliament has issued its draft report (Report) on the European Commission's proposals to amend the existing Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD II). The Report forms part of the legislative process and includes the European Parliament's suggested amendments to the draft directive issued by the European Commission in November 2021. The draft directive proposed a number of changes to the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, largely in respect of delegation, loan origination, liquidity risk management, data reporting and depositaries and it is those areas which are the main focus of the Report.
On 13 May 2022, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) submitted a number of questions to the European Commission relating to the interpretation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the Taxonomy Regulation (Taxonomy Regulation). Separately, the ESAs have also been asked by the European Commission for their input on possible amendments to the SFDR Delegated Regulation.
A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry.
With claimants around the globe continuing to bring novel and ambitious climate change-related cases before common law Courts, some judges are hesitant to be drawn into what may be perceived as a political debate.
The UK Government has announced that new border controls on imports from the EU scheduled for July 2022 are being postponed. In the short term, many (but not all) businesses are likely to welcome this move, as it reduces the risk of disruption to supply chains and will ease cost pressures.
The European Commission published a draft Data Act on 23 February 2022 ("Data Act"), as part of the implementation of its February 2020 strategy for data. This proposed regulation, which will have direct effect in members states, is intended to set standards at an EU-wide level to facilitate and create a fairer, more competitive digital environment for the sharing and re-use of data (both personal and non-personal). This briefing looks at who the Data Act impacts, what it does and how it fits into the EU's vision for a single European market for data.