<p>Filter Knowledge</p>

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

The ICO has launched a consultation on its international data transfer agreement (IDTA). This is the agreement that would be used as a safeguarding mechanism for restricted transfers of data covered by the UK GDPR.

Recently, the DCMS announced three important developments on the UK data protection front:

English courts are seeing an increasing number of claims brought against UK companies who are said to be responsible for harm to claimants who live outside of the UK, even though the company was not directly involved in the wrongful conduct alleged.

The climate emergency has had a profound impact on political and economic agendas globally. Sustainability considerations are now firmly embedded in the legal and regulatory environment in which businesses operate, and in the expectations that investors and customers increasingly place on corporates.

Earlier this year, the Government announced plans for 10 new freeports in the UK. In this briefing, the first of a series on freeports, we explain what freeports are, where they will be located, and when they are expected to be up and running.

As part of a raft of proposals to overhaul the current competition and consumer law regimes, the UK Government has set out for consultation a number of wide-ranging proposals concerning competition law enforcement in the UK. Competition Act enforcement is the focus of this briefing. 

The UK Government has launched a wide-ranging consultation proposing far reaching reforms to the competition and consumer law enforcement regimes.

The UK Government published its long-awaited draft Online Safety Bill in May 2021. The Bill creates a new legal framework for identifying and removing illegal and harmful content from the internet. The aim is to prevent harm to individuals in the UK. Those covered will face fines and other sanctions for non-compliance.

In May of this year, the UK Supreme Court handed down its judgment in Hurstwood Properties (A) Ltd v Rossendale Borough Council [2021] UKSC 16 ('Hurstwood'), a test case for around 55 other similar claims relating to business rates avoidance schemes, used by companies attempting to avoid the payment of non-domestic rates on empty properties.

The UK Government is consulting on plans to reform consumer law, including giving regulators powers to impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover for breach of consumer legislation. If implemented, these changes are likely to result in a significantly tougher regulatory environment for consumer-facing businesses.

On 22 July 2021, the House of Commons International Trade Committee ("ITC") launched an inquiry targeting the international trade aspects of COP26 ("Trade Inquiry").

Alongside a raft of other recent proposals, the UK Government is consulting on plans to introduce tougher competition oversight over major players in the digital technology sector. 

On 5 July 2021, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Victorygame Limited, Surjit Singh Pandher v Ahuja Investments Limited [2021] EWCA Civ 993 concerning whether a party can maintain litigation privilege over information, in circumstances where it has misled the party providing that information as to the purpose for which it is required.

On 9 August 2021, Working Group I of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  ("IPCC") presented its report on the physical science basis of climate change (the "Report"), the first of three parts that will together form the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report ("AR6"), due to be released in full in spring 2022.

In this session from the PLSA's inaugural ESG Conference (July 2021), Pensions Partner Andy Lewis, Partner and Head of Financial Services and Markets Tim Lewis and Senior Consultant Simon Witney discuss key questions that can arise for pension schemes looking develop their ESG policies and beliefs and translate these into practical action. How can schemes fit these specific regulations into the bigger picture of their overall duties and operations without getting lost in the detail?

The recent judgment of the High Court in Josiya & Ors v British American Tobacco PLC & Ors [2021] EWHC 1743 (QB) is the latest in a series of cases in which the English Courts have refused to strike out novel claims against UK companies in respect of alleged unethical conduct in their overseas business operations.

On 6 August 2021 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published CP21/26: A new UK prudential regime for MiFID investment firms.