The public consultation launched by the European Chemicals Agency (“ECHA”) on the topic of microplastics closed on 20 September 2019 with the submission of 477 comments. The consultation followed the publication by ECHA earlier this year...

Eversheds Sutherland has advised Doncasters Group on the sale of its UK Fabrications and Blaenavon Forgings businesses to Arlington Capital Partners as two separate transactions. The deals were led by Corporate partner Richard Kyle with support from...

On 2 December 2019, the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) and the Alan Turing Institute (the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence) (“Turing”) launched a consultation seeking...

One of the major challenges posed by the rapid growth in the use of AI is whether or not existing IP systems are adequate to deal with the ownership and exploitation of AI-assisted and AI-generated products, processes, works and designs, which is so...

New regulations on foreign investment in France were published on January 1, 2020. These texts make numerous changes to the legal framework for investment control in France. Financial relations between France and foreign countries are, in principle,...

The end of December 2019 saw the next step in the EU’s commitment to the adoption of a circular economy as the EU Commission published a road map on a new action plan which aims to speed up the transition to a circular economy. The new plan is...

On November 29, 2019 the German government published its “Industry Strategy 2030” paper. While the strategy paper expresses only the intentions of the Ministry of Economics, it has potential implications for Germany’s foreign direc...

On 10 January 2020, following the recent military escalation between Iran and the US, the White House issued Executive Order, "Imposing Sanctions With Respect to Additional Sectors of Iran" (“EO 13902”), which expands the already broad U...

The below summarises some of the key chemical’s regulation related changes expected in 2020 or which industry should be preparing for during 2020. SCIP Database ECHA is expected to launch a prototype version of the Substances of Concern In art...

HSE’s Business plan With major structural changes to the UK economy expected post Brexit, now is a time for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to reflect on its business plan and the associated implications.  The HSE will be keen to de...

This briefing is intended to provide an update on two recent developments under the US sanctions regime. • The first one is the introduction of US sanctions in relation to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which threaten to widen a rift betwe...

There has been a growing global trend in recent years to strengthen foreign investment control mechanisms, most notably led by CFIUS in the US, and AWV in Germany. In our latest articles, we address the new developments in Germany and France, set to...

Overview On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in response to the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus, the sixth time that the WHO has made this declaration since adop...

The Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) has quietly published a further chapter of its internal Operational Handbook containing guidance on how its staff should assess and evaluate the compliance programmes that they investigate (the “Gui...

Do you import or otherwise place products on the EEA market? If so, you should be aware of the new European Chemicals Agency (“ECHA”) SCIP database. Companies placing products (articles) on the EEA market, including companies importing s...

Those in the diversified industrials sector will have seen that the Chancellor announced in the recent budget that the government is going ahead with its plans to introduce a world leading plastic packaging tax. The tax will be set at a flat rate of...

  On 15 March 2020 the European Commission published Regulation 2020/402 (“Regulation”), which prohibits unlicensed export from the EU of certain personal and protective equipment. This measure is aimed at securing domestic supply o...

A guide for global industrials reassessing their outsourcing requirements during coronavirus COVID-19 continues to cause widespread and indiscriminate disruption to global industrials. Manufacturing companies face more of a challenge in instituting...

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken global industrials around the world largely by surprise with wide-ranging consequences for their M&A pipelines. Coming on the back of a period of high valuations, political uncertainty and slowing deal activity, C...

Pandemic: ‘(of a disease) prevalent over a whole country or the world’ Fear: ‘an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm’ Management: ‘the process of dealing with or controlling things or people...

Introduction In this briefing we look at the regulatory framework applicable to remotely piloted aircrafts in Italy, as recently updated by the Italian Civil Aviation Authority. In particular, this Authority, in line with the Government’s deci...

On 12 March 2020, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc (“ISDA”) published a template amendment agreement which allows the parties to an English law governed ISDA Master Agreement to convert that agreement to an equiva...

Introduction Given the evolving picture on COVID-19 and its impact on the UK economy there are a number of points which property fund managers should be considering in light of the FCA’s recent statements specifically on the virus and their p...

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Communications need to be clear and timely Constantly review and maintain your customer communications content and strategy.  There is a regulatory expectation that firms will ensure consumers are adequately protected during severe disruption.&...

Introduction In the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, and the restrictions imposed to curb its spread, there has been significant market disruption.  As has been seen in some real estate funds, there may therefore be difficulties for fund manag...

In response to Government guidance on maintaining educational provision for the children of key workers, the FCA and PRA have published guidance regarding individuals in th...

Please note that this is a developing situation and we will update this note on a regular basis when further information is available. Across the budget on 11 March 2020 and the subsequent COVID-19 briefing meetings the Chancellor of the Exchequer h...

The restrictive measures on the movement of people to slow the spread of COVID-19 pose specific legal issues for UK Investment Trusts, which are just entering into the reporting and Annual General Meeting (AGM) season.  AGMs have traditionally ...

Novel coronavirus (“COVID19”) has created significant challenges for the financial services sector. As trusted adviser to many of the world’s largest banks, insurers, asset managers, fintechs and other market participants we are he...

  The Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is causing disruption to businesses and markets across sectors and jurisdictions. In this briefing we offer some practical tips for borrowers, treasury departments and customers in relation to loans and oth...

The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has issued a public statement, “Actions to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the EU financial markets” urging national competent authorities not to prioritise supervisor...

There is no cyber-security threat looming on the horizon, the truth is that the storm is already here. An arms race, unseen, digital and all too little understood, is raging. The UK’s Head of Armed Forces, General Sir Nick Carter, recently sta...

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  In the wake of COVID-19, force majeure can be invoked to obtain relief under certain contracts. In this briefing, we discuss if it is a good idea and certain considerations borrowers and financial services customers should make. The impact of...

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Legal liability for financial institutions and financial services firms when using artificial intelligence and machine learning Recent advances in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), coupled with the availability of sufficient computing...

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In its response to COVID-19, the UK Government has also been listening to business and seeking to provide further support mechanisms to help those businesses that have been forced to close in the short term. This has included the prohibition on land...

On Thursday 2 April 2020, the FCA issued draft guidance and Handbook changes to address the impact of Covid-19 on consumer credit customers who have credit cards, store cards and catalogue credit, personal loans and overdrafts. There is a short win...

The FCA and the PRA have issued a joint statement aimed at dual-regulated firms in an attempt to introduce some flexibility in connection with the senior managers and certification regime (SMCR) during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Responding to co...

Background The ongoing coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic has quickly developed into a deep economic crisis of the like never experienced before. Many businesses, including those in the financial services sector, are facing a prolonged period of disrupti...

On 30 March, the Luxembourg Government published a new draft law (the Draft Law) which looks set to increase the Luxembourg tax burden for transactions realised with enterprises based in jurisdictions on the EU’s list of “non-cooperative...

On 3 April 2020, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (“BCBS”) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (“IOSCO”) issued a statement recommending an extension to Phases 5 and 6 of the initial margin ...

As COVID-19 continues to cause far reaching disruption, the Cayman Islands’ Ministry of Financial Services issued two Press Releases on 25 and 26 March, putting forward a package of measures designed to mitigate the neg...

Background and scope of the review On 4th March, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the findings of its desktop review of outsourcing in the life insurance sector. The review forms part of the FCA’s broader consultation and propos...

Across the banking sector, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority predict that firms’ utilisation of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions will triple in the next three years (BoE and FCA Joint Report on Machine Learning in U...

Introduction The FCA Business Plan 2020/21 is understandably overshadowed by the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic but the FCA has, nonetheless, taken the opportunity to set broader goals and review the  way it conducts its business for the years ahe...

This edition includes: The impact of COVID 19: Regulatory updates Competition and Markets Authority: Open Banking EU Consultation on retail payments strategy for the EU  Full Article