Legal News: October 2013

Crash Landing! French courts rule Ryanair and CityJet broke labour laws

Maître Richard Ryde, an English national practising at the Paris Bar examines the recent judgment by the Tribunal Correctionnel (a first instance criminal court) of Aix-en-Provence, which found Ryanair guilty of breaching French labour laws and the judgment of the Paris Court of Appeal which confirmed a similar first instance judgment made in 2012 against CityJet.

HMRC to get tougher on tobacco smuggling and duty evasion

David Anderson, a partner in PwC Legal LLP and leader of the indirect tax litigation team, discusses the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on tobacco smuggling and customs duty evasion, advising that tobacco manufacturers can expect HM Revenue & Customs(HMRC) to increase its activity in combatting fraud.

Could new EU rules on bankers' pay undermine stability in the banking sector?

The UK government is challenging the rules on pay in the banking sector in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) stating they are not fit for purpose and will undermine stability in the banking system. Kennedy Masterton-Smith of Norton Rose Fulbright comments on the implications of the challenge to the Capital Requirements Directive IV (CRD4).

Will tech giants commit to a truce in patent wars?

Do Samsung’s provisional commitments to the European Commission mark the beginning of the end for patent wars? Professor Ioannis Kokkoris, chair in law and economics at the University of Reading, believes that in the presence of significant decisions by competition authorities in this field, the appetite for patent war will be curtailed.

Can the aviation sector trade its way to greener travel?

Would a market-based mechanism (MBM) to tackle emission in the aviation industry ever get off the ground? Rachel Blackburn, the head of climate change and emissions markets at Burges Salmon LLP, says the impact will be unclear until the EU has reached a decision on how to treat international airline traffic under the EU Emission Trading System (ETS).

Policing the border between ideas and capital

The facilitation and regulation of crowdfunding, one of the fastest growing ways of financing start-up businesses, is under consideration by the European Commission. David Blair, head of financial regulation at Osborne Clarke, considers this move, which indicates the Commission will take a pragmatic approach to make Europe a hub for entrepreneurial activity.

A new dawn for UK competition law?

The UK’s new competition body, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) came into existence on 1 October 2013 before going live in April 2014. How will the new body, operate when it goes live and what will be the impact of the changes? Kate Vernon, partner and head of the London competition team at DLA Piper UK, believes that there will be more active anti-trust enforcement and that businesses need to be aware of the changes.

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