Recent Articles

•  

  11.12.2023

  United Kingdom

  UK Fund Tokenisation

  The Investment Association (IA) has published a report with a blueprint for implementing the tokenisation of UK investment funds.The report recommends a phased approach to achieving the ultimate goal of the full investment value chain operating on distributed ledger technology (DLT) via a series of incremental stages.The report is the product of the first stage of this work, and sets out a baseline model for fund tokenisation which could be used within the existing legal and regulatory framework. In this model, the only changes relative to a typical UK investment fund operating today are in the...

  Read more
•  

  11.12.2023

  Singapore

  Assigning rights where a contract contains a non-assignment clause

  This article is produced by CMS Holborn Asia, a Formal Law Alliance between CMS Singapore and Holborn Law LLC. The High Court of Singapore has recently decided that a non-assignment clause in a contract did not prohibit the assignment of non-contractual (or tortious) rights arising out of or in connection with the contract. This article considers the practical implications of that decision.IntroductionCan a party to a contract assign non-contractual rights arising out of the contract to a third party, notwithstanding the existence of a non-assignment clause in the contract?The validity and...

  Read more
•  

  08.12.2023

  International

  COP28 Update – 8 December 2023

  COP28 has seen a host of pledges and agreements, and the CMS team has been reflecting on the announcements and sharing their experiences of COP28 on the CMS COP28 Hub. Here, we roundup the latest commentary from our team at COP28.  CMS CommentaryKey takeaways from Energy Day at COP28As a young professional in the legal field, attending COP28's Energy Day was an eye-opening experience that provided valuable insights into the future of environmental policies and their potential impact. Day 6 of COP28 showcased a collective determination to address the pressing challenges of our time. The discussions...

  Read more
•  

  08.12.2023

  Belgium

  Belgium to tighten Cayman tax in 2024

  FR

  A new law aimed at significantly tightening the Cayman tax was recently tabled in the Belgian parliament. The Cayman tax “version 2.1” reform, which is designed to remedy the shortcomings identified by the Court of Auditors in a report published in April 2023, may come into force on 1 January 2024, giving taxpayers impacted by the legislation little time to react.How the Cayman tax worksThe Cayman tax is a tax measure designed to combat tax evasion by Belgian residents who hold “legal constructions” established abroad (e.g. a trust or untaxed foreign company with legal personality).Belgian...

  Read more
•  

  08.12.2023

  United Kingdom

  Proposed changes to the UK’s immigration system

  This week, in an attempt to “slash migration levels and curb abuse of the immigration system”, the Home Secretary announced proposals which set out a number of reforms to the UK’s immigration rules and visa procedures. The majority of proposals are set to come into force in early Spring 2024, with the exception of the Immigration Health Surcharge increase, which will take effect on 16 January 2024.In this Law-Now we consider some of the proposed upcoming changes and the potential impact of these on recruitment practices going forward.Skilled Worker visas – minimum...

  Read more
•  

  08.12.2023

  International

  COP28: Global Health Under the Spotlight

  Health took centre stage at the first ever ‘Health Day’ at COP28 on 3 December. The program focused the attention of world leaders on the profound public health-related issues stemming from climate change. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and changing ecosystems contribute to the increase of respiratory and water borne diseases, food insecurity and water scarcity around the world. Data reported indicates that annual deaths from polluted air reached almost 9 million and 189 million people are exposed to extreme weather-related events each year. The inclusion of a Health Day...

  Read more