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Earlier this week, the UK Home Office published updated guidance (the "Guidance") for businesses on how to comply with the letter and spirit of the UK's Modern Slavery Act 2015 ("MSA").
When the UK's Modern Slavery Act (the "MSA") was introduced in 2015, it was considered world-leading, with the UK being one of the first countries in the world to mandate corporate reporting on modern slavery. Now, nearly 10 years on, the initial optimism appears to be waning.
Earlier this year, the World Uyghur Congress was successful in its appeal in a case which centered on concerns about the importation of cotton products to the UK from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region ("XUAR") in the People’s Republic of China1. In this article we will explore the important legal and practical ramifications of this decision, in light of more recent allegations against large multinational entities for failing to prevent slavery and human trafficking abuses in their supply chains. We will also examine the impacts this decision may have in other areas from a Proceeds of Crime ("POCA") perspective, along with practical steps organisations can take to manage supply chain risk.
Welcome to the eighth episode in our series of podcasts exploring the key legal issues relating to the development and use of artificial intelligence.
The UK Subsidy Control Act 2022 (the "Act") came into force on 4 January 2023 in order to replace the European Union ("EU") state aid regime and satisfy the UK's obligations under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The Act sets out a framework for public bodies to comply with when awarding subsidies to businesses and provides a means for private challenge of the granting of any such awards.
Earlier this month, the EU's European Artificial Intelligence Act ("AI Act")[1], the world's first comprehensive regulation on artificial intelligence, came into force. The AI Act aims to ensure that AI systems are safe, transparent, traceable and environmentally friendly.
The 2024 edition of our award winning Dispute Resolution Yearbook provides an overview of the disputes market in general, insights into our practice, and an opportunity to learn more about our team.
This update provides a brief summary of some notable recent developments from an international sanctions perspective. This includes the publication of a 'Tri-Seal Compliance Note' by certain government bodies in the US, emphasising the potential applicability of US sanctions to non-US persons and the corresponding risks of non-compliance, the impact of the EU's new "no Russia" law, which requires certain contractual obligations to be satisfied when exporting specific goods from the EU, and the EU's new directive imposing criminal liability on those looking to circumvent its sanctions regime.
This update provides a brief summary of some notable recent developments from a UK sanctions perspective, including the introduction of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation ("OTSI"), which will be tasked with trade sanctions implementation and enforcement in the UK, along with further guidance on a potentially wide interpretation of the "ownership and control" test, and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's ("OFSI") 2022-2023 Annual Review.
Our ESG timeline archive sets out past UK and EU legal and regulatory developments relating to ESG and wider sustainable business topics from January 2023 onwards. As with the main timeline, the timeline archive can be filtered according to your business type or the relevant ESG theme.
Last week the Quoted Companies Alliance (the "QCA") published its revised Corporate Governance Code (the "Revised Code"). The Revised Code will apply in respect of financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2024 and there will be a 12-month transition period (from 1 April 2024) during which companies will have additional flexibility to adjust to the provisions of the Revised Code.
This update provides a brief summary of some notable recent developments in the UK sanctions world, including interesting commentary from the Court of Appeal on a potentially wide interpretation of the "ownership and control" test, which was rapidly followed by a statement from the Government suggesting such an interpretation should be limited, and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's ("OFSI") first use of its public disclosure enforcement power.
The recent announcement of the UK Government's Payment and Cash Flow Review has once again put the spotlight on late payment clauses and other payment practices. Larger businesses in particular may be criticised for failure to comply with legal requirements or "best practices" in relation to their purchasing activity.
The British Government has defended a claim brought by the World Uyghur Congress ("WUC") and the Global Legal Action Network ("GLUN") (together, the "Claimants") over the alleged failure to tackle imports of Uyghur forced-labour cotton into the UK. Findings from the case create important milestones that have the potential to impact international trade and the use and import of forced labour goods across a wide variety of sectors.
The UK Government confirmed that it intended to put forward a failure to prevent fraud offence in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (the "Bill").
As legislators and regulators increase their focus on human rights and good governance, the UN Principles for Responsible Investment ("UNPRI"), an international organisation that works to promote the incorporation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decision-making, announced at the end of last year the creation of a new collaborative stewardship initiative, Advance.
Our ESG timeline archive sets out past UK and EU legal and regulatory developments relating to ESG and wider sustainable business topics from January 2022 onwards. As with the main timeline, the timeline archive can be filtered according to your business type or the relevant ESG theme.
On 9 November 2022, the Investment Association (the "IA") published its latest version of the IA Principles of Remuneration (the "Principles") and Letter to Remuneration Committee Chairs (the "Letter").
This update provides a brief overview of some notable events that have occurred in recent weeks, including the UK Government's increasing ability to target activities considered to be problematic from a circumventing Russian sanctions perspective.