Recent Articles

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  22/04/2025

  Austria

  Austrian merger control – Supreme Court rules on ‘sig­ni­fic­ant domestic activities’ requirement under the transaction value test

  The Austrian Supreme Court in its Edwards Lifesciences/JenaValve decision dated 26 March 2025 (16 Ok 2/25t) examines under which circumstances the acquired target undertaking/business ‘is active’ in Austria ‘to a significant extent’. Only if this requirement is met, a merger notification under the so-called transaction value test pursuant to Section 9(4) of the Austrian Cartel Act (KartG) can be required.The case stems from the contemplated acquisition of JenaValve Technology, Inc. (JenaValve) by Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (Edwards) and provides important guidance for assessing...

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  18/04/2025

  China

  Supreme Court In­ter­pret­a­tion on Prepaid Contracts: Implications for Con­sumer-Fa­cing Businesses

  Prepaid consumption has become a widespread business model across various industries in China, offering businesses a way to secure upfront capital and build long-term customer engagement. However, it also carries inherent risks—both for consumers and operators. Nearly everbody living in China has come across gyms or hairdressers that granted impressive discounts on memberships in return for substantial advance payments, but closed down and disappeared after only a few months with a large amount of the balance still unused. In response to the rising number of disputes and public concerns,...

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  17/04/2025

  South Africa

  Employment Equity Sectoral Targets and the Employment Equity Regulations, 2025 are here: what every employer needs to know

  On 15 April 2025, the Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, (“Minister”) published in the Government Gazette two critical employment equity legislative developments, effective immediately:the Employment Equity Regulations, 2025, repealing the 2014 Regulations (“2025 Regulations”); andthe long-awaited sectoral numerical targets, published in terms of section 15A of the Employment Equity Act 1998 as amended (“EEA”), (“Sectoral Targets”).These developments have implications for designated and non-designated employers across South...

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  17/04/2025

  United Kingdom

  Government publishes dispute resolution guidance under Developer Remediation Contracts

  The government has recently published guidance under the provisions of its Developer Remediation Contracts (“DRC”) agreed in connection with the Responsible Actors Scheme. The guidance focuses on the use of mediation to resolve disputes arising between third parties and developers in connection with DRCs. This Law-Now provides a brief summary of the guidance and some of the legal issues it gives rise to.Developer Remediation ContractsAs part of the drive to remediate unsafe high rise buildings, in 2023, the government asked major developers to sign a DRC committing the developer to...

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  17/04/2025

  Germany

  Corporate law in the coalition agreement

  Reducing bureaucracy, supporting start-ups and reforming the law on defects in resolutions – just some of the topics addressed in the current coalition agreement.  On its 144 pages, the coalition agreement published on 9 April deals with a wide range of topics relating to corporate law. These are summarised in this article. Reducing bureaucracy, particularly in the context of sustainability reporting The national "Immediate Action Programme for the Reduction of Bureaucracy" is intended to ensure that documentation costs are significantly reduced by the end of 2025, particularly...

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  17/04/2025

  United Kingdom

  FCA’s Second Consultation on Consumer Composite Investments

  IntroductionThe Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) launched a second consultation on the Consumer Composite Investments (“CCI”) regime on 16 April 2025 (the “Second Consultation”) with further proposals to support the CCI regime including changes to cost information and rules for the transitional period.This follows on from an earlier consultation from December 2024. The proposed CCI regime aims to replace the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (“PRIIPs”) regime and certain Undertakings for Collective Investment...

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