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Civil Law

Dissolution of the French National Assembly: what does it mean for the Proposed PFAS Law?

After the results of the European elections, where the presidential political party lost a significant number of seats at the European Parliament, the president of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron decided to dissolve the National Assembly. This dissolution was effected by the presidential “Decree of June 9, 2024 dissolving the National Assembly“, which was published in the Official Journal of the French Republic on June 10, 2024.

At the time of the dissolution, several projects and proposals of laws … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Little guidance from court on New York interest requirement on national bank escrow accounts

Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s opinion for a unanimous court Thursday in Cantero v. Bank of America will not be one for the casebooks or treatises, as it says almost nothing about how the lower court is supposed to reconcile provisions of the National Bank Act that protect national banks with a New York statute requiring all banks (including national banks) to pay interest on the escrow accounts they hold for their mortgage customers.

The difficulty arises because amendments to the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

On presidential immunity, a riveting national civics lesson

Today is the last day of argument for the 2023-24 term, and – as everyone in the courtroom knows – we are here to see what is probably the biggest case of the term: Trump v. United States.

Yesterday, after an intense argument over abortion and emergency care in Moyle v. United States, Chief Justice John Roberts popped over to Georgetown University Law Center’s annual end-of-arguments reception, which revolves around the law school’s Supreme Court Institute and … Read the rest

Civil Law

For Limited Use Only: Guidance on National Security Delay Determinations under the SEC Cyber Reporting Rule

On December 12, 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued guidance related to the process by which companies may request the United States Attorney General authorize delays of cyber incident disclosures, pursuant to a new Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rule. As a reminder, the SEC rule (which went into effect on Dec. 18, 2023) requires companies to disclose material cyber incidents via Form 8-K within four days of making a materiality determination. Our colleagues previously discussed the SEC rule … Read the rest

Civil Law

US NAIC Summer 2023 National Meeting Highlights: ESG

At the Summer 2023 National Meeting of the US National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”), a number of sessions were focused on environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) initiatives, led by the Special (EX) Committee on Race and Insurance (the “R&I Committee”) and the Climate and Resiliency (EX) Task Force (“C&R Task Force”), both of which report to the NAIC Executive (EX) Committee. While neither the C&R Task Force nor the R&I Committee announced any … Read the rest

Civil Law

EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: National MA Procedures Including the Mutual Recognition Procedure and Decentralized Procedure

The European Commission (the “Commission”) wants to “avoid unnecessary administrative and financial burdens for applicants and competent authorities.” As such, the Commission’s proposal for a revised Directive on the Union Code Relating to Medicinal Products for Human Use (the “Directive”) retains the Decentralized Procedure (“DCP”) and Mutual Recognition Procedure (“MRP”). Chapter III of the Directive sets out the new procedures for national marketing authorizations (“MAs”). This includes a purely national MA procedure granted in a single Member State … Read the rest

Civil Law

Changes to BCEA Earnings Threshold and to National Minimum Wage Act from 1 March 2023

The Minister of Labour has determined that from 1 March 2023, the earnings threshold under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 increased from R224 080.48 per annum (approximately R18 673.37 per month) to R241 110.59 per annum (approximately R20 092.55 per month).

The national minimum wage increased from R23.19 per hour to R25.42 for each ordinary hour worked.

“Earnings” is defined in the BCEA as the regular annual remuneration before deductions i.e. income tax, pension, medical aid and similar … Read the rest

Civil Law

Frank Burke Inducted Into National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals

Happy 2023! I am pleased to announce that I have been inducted into the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN) for both mediation and arbitration. I am thrilled to be invited to join such an elite group of mediators and arbitrators.

The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals is a professional association whose membership consists of ADR professionals distinguished by their hands-on experience in the field of civil and commercial conflict resolution. Membership is by invitation only and all Academy members … Read the rest