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Recent Articles

  •  
    14/02/2025
    EU

    ePrivacy Newsletter February 2025

    The EU's plan to introduce the ePrivacy Regulation has failed. On 12 February 2025, the European Commission presented its 2025 work programme, which it had adopted the day before. In addition to many highly anticipated legislative procedures, it also contains proposals for some ongoing legislative procedures to be cancelled. This includes the ePrivacy Regulation.The annex to the work programme states that no agreement on the ePrivacy Regulation is expected in this procedure. In addition, the proposal is outdated both technologically and legally in view of more recent legislation.This means that...
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  •  
    14/02/2025
    England and Wales

    Ofcom issues draft information notices for cat­egor­isa­tion: What online service providers need to know

    The Online Safety Act 2003 (“OSA”) became law in October 2023, with the majority of the duties coming into effect in phases during the course of 2025. The OSA places duties on in-scope services to protect UK users from illegal harms and to protect children from online harm. Additional duties apply to services if they meet certain threshold conditions. The OSA includes a system for categorising online services – as Category 1, 2A or 2B - based on key characteristics, including user numbers and functionality.  As part of its phased implementation of the OSA, Ofcom has...
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  •  
    14/02/2025
    United Kingdom

    Supreme Court provides guidance on the in­ter­pret­a­tion of double tax treaties

    The Supreme Court has handed down judgment in an appeal concerning the allocation of taxing rights between the UK and Canada. The case relates to income earned from the sale of oil found in the UK continental shelf in the North Sea. The appeal concerned the application of the UK/Canada double taxation treaty (the DTT) and whether the UK had a right to charge to tax payments made by BP Petroleum Development Ltd (BP) to Sulpetro and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). The majority found in favour of RBC that the relevant payments were not subject to corporation tax.BackgroundSulpetro Ltd was an international...
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    14/02/2025
    Switzerland

    Switzerland bans share transfers in shell companies

    On 1 January 2025, the "Federal Act on Combating Abusive Bankruptcy" and the corresponding amendment to the Commercial Register Ordinance (HRegV) entered into force, amending certain bankruptcy and criminal law provisions in line with case-law of the Federal Supreme Court on shell companies.This previous article (here) summarises the new corporate law provisions. Below we discuss how the new rules are to be assessed and what complex issues have arisen.1. Share transfers in shell companies: new provisions in the CO and the HRegVThe new provisions in the Swiss Code of Obligations are concise (art....
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  •  
    13/02/2025
    South Africa

    De­re­gis­tra­tion and Reinstatement of Companies in South Africa

    On 17 January 2025, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (“Commission”) released a media statement confirming that the Commission has commenced with a large number of de-registrations due non-compliance with annual returns and beneficial ownership fillings among others. The Commission is intensifying its focus on enforcing compliance with the Companies Act, 2008 (“Act”) and related legislation, particularly the vital requirement for companies to declare their beneficial ownership.As of 27 January 2025, the Commission issued a notice confirming that entities...
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    13/02/2025
    South Africa

    The Expropriation Act 13 of 2024

    The Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 (the “Act”) was signed into law on 20 December, 2024 and it aims to: (1) provide for the expropriation of property for a public purpose or in the public interest; (2) regulate the procedure for the expropriation of property for the purposes stated, including payment of compensation that is just and equitable; and (3) lastly, to identify instances where the provision of nil compensation may be just and equitable for expropriation in the public interest. The Act also repeals the Expropriation Act 63 of 1975 (the “1975 Act”).Expropriation is...
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