This Report provides an analysis of corruption within the EU’s Member States and of the steps taken to prevent and fight it. It aims to launch a debate involving the Commission, Member States, the European Parliament and other stakeholders, to assist the anti-corruption work and to identify ways in which the European dimension can help.
Like many others, Spain has been hit hard by the global economic downturn. In the wake of domestic real estate crashes and international financial crises, Spain has restructured its economy and remains one of the most open and diverse in Europe. Learn more about what this means from an international investment perspective.
When drafting contracts, using indemnity provisions and insurance clauses should be more than just a “copy and paste” operation. Such clauses should be tailored to the specific needs of the contracting parties. This article provides tips on drafting effective indemnification provisions and insurance clauses in contracts involving the sale or purchase of goods and services.
Foreign companies doing business in China have focused in recent days on the case of GlaxoSmithKline (“GSK”), the British multinational producer of pharmaceuticals, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare products headquartered in London. Articles to date, however, have been more descriptive than analytical and have focused more on the alleged acts and potential implications for the individuals allegedly involved and not as much on potential exposure for the corporate entities and those corporate officers who were not directly involved in actions violating PRC law. This article addresses those points while also placing the case in the broader context of China today.
In the wake of recent investigations into business activities in China, companies and their investors have asked how to respond to a “dawn raid” by authorities in China. PRC law provides for the rights and protections listed in this article. Your ability to implement and enforce these rights will depend, naturally, upon the circumstances and the willingness of the authorities to comply, but the starting point is to know your position under applicable law.
You are an American company expanding its business into China. You have just clinched a highly coveted multi-million-dollar deal, documented in a one hundred-page contract that seems to cover every conceivable hiccup. But that lucrative deal, which took months to close, may not be as airtight as you imagine. If a dispute arises between your company and your Chinese business partner, how can you resolve it? The Chinese business may have assets in China, but again it is difficult to enforce a US judgment in China: The two superpowers do not yet have reciprocal arrangements to recognize judgments from each other’s courts. This article explains how to manage and resolve disputes in China, and, where possible, avoid them altogether.
Brazilian law requires arbitrators to state the reasons for their respective decisions. Failure to do so may result in annulment of the arbitral award. Learn more about recent opinions rendered by the Sao Paulo appellate court that shed some light on how much reasoning arbitrators are required to give in their awards.
The European Commission recently adopted a legislative proposal package that introduces several changes on payment services in the European Union and, in accordance with the European Commission, seeks to improve competition by opening up payment markets to new entrants, thus fostering greater efficiency and cost-reduction.
Last month, the merger simplification package adopted by the European Commission entered into force. The main objective of this reform is to achieve a greater level of efficiency in merger review and to reduce the administrative burdens for the businesses involved. The most relevant measures introduced by the package include widening the scope of transactions, which may benefit from the simplified procedure, and updating notification forms. The Commission has also revised its guidelines on commitments offered by parties.
The Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (Act) was passed by the Singapore Parliament on 15 October 2012 and came into effect in Singapore on 2 January 2013. A major component of the Act was to put in place general data protection provisions (Data Protection Provisions) that apply to all organisations operating in the private sector in Singapore. Previously, only limited confidentiality obligations existed in Singapore under certain sector specific legislation.