Introduction
On 9 February 2021 the Maharashtra governor promulgated the Maharashtra Stamp (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance 2021 with immediate effect. The ordinance introduced two key amendments to the Maharashtra Stamp Act 1958 concerning:
the stamping of documents that encompass multiple transactions; and
stamp duty rates for agreements that relate to:
the creation of a mortgage by deposit of title deeds; and
mortgage deeds.
Stamping of instruments relating to several distinct matters or transactions
Section 5 of the Maharashtra Stamp Act, which deals with the stamping of various instruments that relate to several distinct matters, has been amended retrospectively with effect from 11 August 2015. The section now includes instruments that relate to not only distinct matters but also distinct transactions.
The National Health Surveillance Agency recently published four guidelines on its prior consent procedure, which all pharmaceutical patent applications in Brazil must undergo before the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BRPTO) conducts the technical examination. However, applicants should remember that the final decision on the patentability of pharmaceutical patent applications is made exclusively by the BRPTO.
Two lower court decisions have confirmed tenants right to claim a COVID-19-related rent reduction in general. However, both decisions must be read carefully and leave many questions unanswered, particularly in cases where shops made or could have made limited use of their premises during the national lockdowns by offering online delivery or click and collect services. In addition, state aid may affect rent reductions. This uncertainty has led to many mutual agreements in the market.
Lockdowns
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been three lockdowns in Austria. During each of these periods, the customer area of shops had to be closed to the public, except for certain essential retail stores (ie grocery stores and pharmacies).(1) Restaurants could offer takeaway and delivery services only (subject to certain restrictions) and hotels were shut subject to certain exceptions (eg, persons who were staying at the hotel at the start of the lockdown could remain and certa
In the recent case of
Helice Leasing SAS v PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk ([2021] EWHC 99 (Comm)), the Commercial Court decided that the claimant, aircraft leasing company Helice, must arbitrate its claim against airline Garuda for more than $5,150,000 in unpaid lease rent under London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) rules instead of proceeding by court action.
The court upheld the parties arbitration agreement pursuant to the lease agreement terms despite conflicting references therein which stated that the lessor could proceed by appropriate court action following an event of default.(1) The court endorsed the one-stop shop principle established by the House of Lords in
Under the Employment Contracts Act, employers and employees may agree on non-compete obligations only in limited circumstances. However, in practice, the criteria are vague and non-compete obligations have been used more commonly than what was originally intended. The reform of the Employment Contracts Act aims to change this situation and ensure that employers carefully consider when to include non-compete obligations in employment contracts.