This year the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued its first formal decision against three asset management firms for breaching competition law. This is the FCA’s first formal decision under its competition enforcement powers after having become concurrent competition regulator in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2015. Newton Investment Management (Newton), Hargreave Hale (HH) and […]
The Malta Financial Services Authority’s steadfast ambition to bolster Malta’s position as an international hub for excellence in financial services is embodied in its Vision 2021 strategy launched earlier today. The MFSA’s Vision 2021 identifies six pillars that are key to fostering and supporting the right business and regulatory environment to enable forward-thinking entrepreneurs and […]
The use of electronic signatures and the validation thereof was previously regulated in terms of the Electronic Commerce Act (Chapter 426 of the Laws of Malta) (the “Act”); however, the relevant provision was repealed in 2016 by means of Act XXXV.2016.5. The amendments to this Act effectively repealing the provisions on electronic signatures were made […]
With effect from 27th November 2018, the Listing Authority of the Malta Financial Services Authority announced a number of changes to Chapters 4 and 5 of the Listing Rules, which changes transpose a series of European Union legislative amendments. Briefly, Chapter 5 of the Listing Rules, specifically Listing Rule 5.56A has been amended to specify […]
In its first ruling on the “self-cleaning” process established under the Public Procurement Directive 2014/24 (the Directive) to allow a bidder, previously involved in a cartel, to take part in procurement proceedings, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) considered that a member state may require a bidder to provide a contracting authority […]
‘Securing the Future’ was chosen as the theme of the EIOPA 8th annual conference held on the 20th October 2018. The conference itself provided invaluable insight as to what the future holders for insurers and pension funds and what regulatory bodies are likely to focus on in the coming months. Throughout, the message was that […]
In a decision handed down on 13November 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) ruled that the taste of food is not eligible for copyright protection under the copyright directive (Directive 2001/29/EC, the “Directive”). The CJEU’s decision follows a preliminary ruling request made by the Regional Court of Appeal, Arnhem-Leeuwarden, the […]
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) recently delivered its preliminary rulings on two referrals by German courts asking whether EU law precludes national legislation under which a worker loses his entitlement to payment of an allowance in lieu of paid leave not taken if the worker did not ask to take the […]
The Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) recently delivered a preliminary ruling distinguishing between Article 101 and Article 102 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (the “TFEU”) as regards the applicability of choice of forum clauses to competition damages claims. The French Cour de cassation lodged the preliminary […]
Background This October, the French Autorité de la Concurrence (“Autorité”) issued its first post-Coty decision [18-D-23 dated 24 October 2018] subjecting Stihl, a leading manufacturer of outdoor power tools, to a fine of 7 million Euros for restricting sales by its authorised distributors over the internet. On the other hand, the Autorité considered that selective […]