Law360: On April 24, the EU adopted Directive 2024/1226, which criminalises sanctions violations. This will bring significant changes to EU sanctions enforcement by harmonizing the rules on the violation of EU sanctions, and by setting common definitions of criminal offenses and penalties.

Law360, Expert analysis: In the wake of the recent European Parliament elections, the spotlight has turned to the highly anticipated Payment Services Directive III (PSD III) and Payment Services Regulation (PSR), expected in September 2024. These developments mark a pivotal moment in the legislative process, as member states in the European Council are now tasked with establishing their positions to kick-start trilogue negotiations. Kristýna Tupá, attorney, and Karolína Hlavinková, associate at Schoenherr Rechtsanwälte GmbH, examine the key topics of the PSD III and the PSR, such as harmonisation, consumer rights, fraud prevention, open banking and access to cash, and discuss their implications for lawyers advising payment service providers and customers in the EU.

Financial Services analysis: Christopher Poon, counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, examines and assesses the background, scope and main findings of the Financial Markets Law Committee (FMLC) paper concerning the uncertainty as to the financial instruments that fall within scope of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR).

Banking & Finance analysis: The Loan Market Association (LMA) has updated its real estate finance (REF) facility agreements and intercreditor agreements. Amelia Slocombe, legal director of LMA, outlines the main changes in the agreements.

Intellectual Property analysis: On 9 June 2018, The Trade Secrets (Enforcement etc) Regulations 2018 will come into force, transposing the Trade Secrets Directive into UK law. Will Smith, associate in the intellectual property group at Bird & Bird’s London office, highlights the key changes to the existing law and explains what lawyers should do as a result.

Planning analysis: Elaine Allen, a legal director at Blake Morgan, examines issues currently facing the British housing sector, what the government is doing to combat the housing crisis and how effective the proposed solutions could be.

The rise of equity financing: background to Mudaraba The conventional financing structure which is based on interest can create impediments in achieving economic justice, equity and fair play as it creates debt that cannot in many circumstances be repaid by the debtor. Inequity is one of the most debilitating issues globally today and the use of Islamic financing structures can help alleviate this global problem. A central concept in Islamic banking and finance is justice in the economic sense, which is achieved through the sharing of risk. Stakeholders are supposed to share profits and losses in any investments. The following excerpt from Ayat 8 from Surah Al Maidah of the Quran illustrates this point: 'O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witness in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is acquainted with what you do'. Under conventional financing, underlying assets are not a requirement

Corporate Crime analysis: What is a substantial impairment for the purposes of diminished responsibility? Stephen Rose, barrister at Red Lion Chambers, examines the Supreme Court’s answer in R v Golds.

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: Did Pro4Sport v Adams clarify how a claim under the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) may also be brought as part of proceedings under the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986)? James Morgan, barrister at St Philips Chambers, explores this recent case.

Crime analysis: How have the new Criminal Procedure Rules 2015 (Crim PR 2015) restated or amended previous legislation? Adrian Turner, barrister, co-editor of Stone’s Justices’ Manual, editor of Butterworths Road Traffic Service and editor of Anthony & Berryman, offers a brief overview of Crim PR 2015 and explains the important developments.

1 The aim of the absence management strategy 1.1 To reduce the annual absence rate from [insert rate, eg 3.5%] to [insert rate, eg 2.0%]. 1.2 [To reduce the detrimental impact on service delivery that the high rate of short, sporadic absence is having on the firm.] 1.3 To manage long term sickness more effectively so its impact on the firm’s absence rate is reduced. 2 Key trends and causes of absence over the past 12 months 2.1 [One employee has been absent for six months with long-term sickness related to stress (following the breakdown of marriage). No meetings

MLex: The European Commission gave EU countries a taste of the examples it sees falling under the EU AI Act’s bans. The Commission is preparing guidelines to specify the use cases that will be forbidden as of 2 February 2025.