Page 12 - Law Developments News Today

Background In 2016 various drivers brought claims against Uber for the national minimum wage, holiday pay and detrimental treatment for whistleblowing. To succeed, the drivers had to be workers for the purposes of the relevant legislation rather than independent contractors. While there are (confusingly) slightly different worker tests in different statutes, for present purposes a worker is either: an employee (ie, employed under a contract of employment); or someone who works under a contract ...

The Supreme People's Court recently promulgated Several Provisions on Evidence in Civil Litigation Involving Intellectual Property Rights. The 33-article provisions alleviate the burden of proof on IP rights holders and streamline the formal requirements for evidence sourced outside China. They also introduce penalties for evidence obstruction.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government commissioned the so-called 'social partners' (ie, the Chamber of Commerce representing employers and labour unions acting on behalf of employees) to negotiate and present a bill on working from home that Parliament can pass into law as the new standard on the matter. The new framework will cover various issues – from contractual provisions and co-determination by works councils to recommendations on occupational safety.

Amendments Two fundamental proposed amendments to Chapter 10 of the EU-Mexico Trade Agreement are: the introduction of the possibility to appeal decisions of arbitration panels. This amendment would transform arbitration proceedings into two-stage proceedings. the requirement that arbitration panels be composed of arbitrators of both parties and different countries. This would result in a permanent court of arbitration whose purpose would be to resolve investment disputes. Two-stage arbitratio...

The EU Anti-tax Avoidance Directive (2016/1164/EU) has been transposed into Cypriot legislation and is: retrospectively effective as of 1 January 2020 with regard to hybrid mismatches, exit taxation and tax residency mismatches; and effective as of 1 January 2022 with regard to reverse hybrid mismatch arrangements, which exploit the different tax treatment of an entity or instrument under the laws of different jurisdictions. Given the strengthening of the rules on corporate tax avoidance, indiv...

What is an advance healthcare directive? An advance healthcare directive is also known as a living will. Although not a new concept, it is newly recognised in the Cayman Islands. In 2019 the Health Care Decisions Act was implemented in the Cayman Islands. This law allows individuals to determine their wishes surrounding medical care and treatment, including end-of-life care, should they become mentally incompetent, and prepare a legal document to this effect. The legal document outlines preferr...

E-commerce platforms are accessible to both authentic and counterfeit sellers. Anyone may register and begin selling immediately, without the need to undergo scrutiny or due diligence. The high court recently provided some clarification on the extent of liability that online marketplaces have regarding IP infringements by sellers. This decision is a palpable relief for online marketplaces, the continued existence of which arguably benefits the public by encouraging competition and stimulating th...

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has not been kind to air carriers. Not only have they seen the loss of up to 75% of their passenger traffic, they have also been left to develop and enforce their own policies regarding mask wearing and other measures designed to protect the health of their employees and passengers. This has resulted in videos being shared of onboard altercations as passengers resist compliance with airline rules. The absence of a federal mandate has exacerbated this situation...

Introduction Taiwanese mobile operators are aiming for mass user migration to 5G networks in 2021, following confirmation that a special government budget of approximately NT$15.5 billion has been allocated to a subsidy scheme for 5G network deployment between 2021 and 2022. All major mobile operators met their subscriber targets in 2020 after the commercial launch of 5G services in July 2020. Users of 5G are forecasted to account for 30% of total mobile broadband subscribers in 2021, compared ...

The central government recently notified the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act. The amendment act aims to strengthen organisations' compliance mechanisms, enhance transparency and accountability in the use of foreign contributions and prevent the misuse of funds received from foreign contributions by certain organisations and instead promote the use of such funds by genuine non-governmental organisations which are working to improve the welfare of society.