This month has seen a large increase in the notification thresholds in the Philippines for a two-year period, cabinet approval of amendments to the merger control regime in Germany and the announcement by the EU’s Competition Commissioner that referrals will be accepted from Member States even where national notification thresholds are not met. Philippines—notification thresholds increased for two years The notification thresholds in the Philippines have been increased for two years – now, all transactions are exempt from the requirement to notify the PCC where the value of the transaction is less than PHP 50 billion (approx. €870.9m/US$1,026.6m) (ie target has either annual turnover in, into and from the Philippines or assets in the Philippines in excess of PHP 50 billion). In addition, for one year, the PCC’s discretionary power to review transactions under the thresholds has also been suspended. Comment: The change, which has now been ratified by the President, is in place for two years and is intended as an economic stimulus following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This change will drastically reduce

This Practice Note provides information about the ‘Recommendations to achieve best practice in the child protection and family justice systems’ report (the PLWG report) prepared by the Public Law Working Group (PLWG) and endorsed by the President of the Family Division on 1 March 2021. It includes information about the background to the PLWG report, recommendations, details of the best practice guidance and templates attached to the report and the conclusions reached by the PLWG. Background to the PLWG and the report The PLWG was formed to investigate the steep rise in public law children cases coming to the Family Court and to offer recommendations for improving the system’s ability to address the needs of the children and families at the centre of these cases. The additional pressures on the child protection and family justice systems arising from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have underlined the need for new ways of working. The objectives of the PLWG were to: • recommend changes to current practice and procedure to be implemented swiftly, without the need for primary or

Introduction: emissions from transport Surface transport including road transport is a significant source of environmental emissions including air pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and noise. It continues to be the largest source of GHG emissions in the UK, having overtaken power and industry in 2015. The three most significant sources of surface transport emissions are cars, vans and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). Emissions fell sharply in 2020 (by 18%) as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic but have returned to high levels: see for example 2024 statistics from the Office of National Statistics which note that GHG missions from the transport sector have increased by 39.6% since 2021, largely driven by increasing activity after the pandemic. The World Health Organisation notes that the transport sector is responsible for a large proportion of air pollution, as well as being a leading source of GHG emissions. An estimated 4.2 million premature deaths are attributed to ambient (outdoor) air pollution. Higher air pollution concentrations increase the risk for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer and adverse birth outcomes, and are associated

To a greater or lesser extent technological solutions have been employed at all stages of arbitral proceedings for decades. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and resultant travel restrictions and lockdowns necessitated an enhanced focus on how technology can be used by lawyers and arbitrators to promote fair and efficient proceedings on a global basis. Moreover, rapid advances in technology employed both by clients and in the legal sector (including the advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) technology), paired with increased cost and ESG pressures on practitioners, are placing a prominent spotlight on the way technology is employed in arbitration. When discussing technology in arbitration, it has historically been easy to think primarily in terms of e-discovery, electronic bundling and remote/hybrid hearings. However, technological concerns should and do pervade almost every aspect of an arbitration from the arbitration agreement and consideration of the underlying laws and procedural rules, to the choice of arbitrator, to case management and presentation, and even through to enforcement of the ultimate award. In addition to efficiency

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. For more information, see subtopic: New and updated content in Risk and Compliance. This Practice Note keeps you informed, on a month-by-month basis, about amended existing content and newly-published content in Risk & Compliance. This content may have been added or amended to reflect regulatory changes or as part of our ongoing content development. December 2020 New or updated? Content Reason Updated Practice Notes:—Coronavirus (COVID-19)—employment data protection issues [Archived] Updated to reflect latest government guidance. Updated Practice Note: High-risk third countries trackerPrecedent: Table of high-risk third countries Updated to remove Mongolia as per EU delegated regulation issued on 9 December 2020. Updated Practice Note: Sanctions—reporting obligations Content maintenance Updated Practice Note: Sanctions regimes made under SAMLA 2018—tracker [Since removed] Updated to reflect new human rights designations. Updated Practice Note: Criminal records—asking questions and DBS checks Content maintenance Updated Practice Notes:—Brexit legislation tracker [Archived]—Brexit transition hub [Archived] Updated to reflect

This Practice Note summarises the law relating to quorum requirements for a company’s general meeting or annual general meeting (AGM) and discusses the minimum quorum requirements under the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) and the Model Articles for private companies limited by shares and the Model Articles for public companies as set out in Schedule 1 and Schedule 3 of the Companies (Model Articles) Regulations 2008, SI 2008/3229. A general meeting (including an AGM) must satisfy the relevant quorum requirements (be quorate) for business to be validly transacted at the meeting. If the relevant quorum requirements are not satisfied (ie the meeting is inquorate), any business transacted will be void. In practice, quorum requirements are often set out in a company's articles of association. Where the articles contain no such provisions, then the relevant provisions of CA 2006 will apply. During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and the resulting restrictions on gatherings, many companies, in line with emergency legislation and governmental guidance, changed the way in which they planned for, and held, their general

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA 2020) was introduced as part of the government’s response to the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Among other reforms, CIGA 2020 inserted new provisions into the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), that are intended to ensure the continuity of supplies to businesses which are in financial difficulties and struggling to pay the supplier, and to restrict the operation of certain contractual rights in contracts for the sale and supply of goods upon insolvency. CIGA 2020 has significant implications for the construction industry. The provisions likely to impact parties to construction contracts are the restrictions on a supplier’s right to terminate or to do ‘any other thing’ where the customer is insolvent, as provided by IA 1986, s 233B (which was introduced by CIGA 2020, s 14). In the construction context, the customer for the purposes of the CIGA 2020 provisions will be the employer under a main contract or a consultant’s appointment, or, in sub-contracts,

This Resource Note highlights relevant commentary, analysis and resources to assist with the interpretation of, and provide practical guidance on the application of, Chapter 2 of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules (DTR 2) Materials covered in this Resource Note include, where relevant: • the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook • FCA guidance in its Knowledge Base—Procedural notes and Technical notes (which constitute formal guidance and are binding on the FCA) • FCA consultation papers, discussion papers, policy statements, feedback statements and warnings • Primary Market Bulletins and other FCA publications • former UKLA technical and procedural notes and the UKLA's newsletter List!, where still relevant to the interpretation or application of a provision • assimilated EU legislation • EU Directives and EU Regulations, where relevant to interpretation of a provision • Lexis+® UK analysis and resources Setting the scene • What it covers: DTR 2 sets out the requirements relating to the disclosure and control of inside information by an issuer to promote prompt and fair disclosure

This week's edition of Restructuring & Insolvency weekly highlights includes: a discussion on the powers of provisional liquidators (Aerovías Del Continente Americano v Versilia Solutions), an examination of disclosure applications in director disqualification claims (Lawless v The Secretary of State for Business and Trade), an analysis on service of a winding up petition on a default registered office (DG Resources Ltd v HMRC), plus a round-up of other news and cases for restructuring and insolvency professionals.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note considers the position in relation to service of documents from England and Wales on a defendant in an EU Member State where the process for service is commenced prior to 31 December 2020. This requires consideration of provisions in CPR 6 alongside the Withdrawal Agreement and the EU Commission’s Notice to Stakeholders dealing with civil justice. Different considerations apply if commencing service of documents after this date. For the position where service is being commenced on or after 1 January 2021, see Practice Note: Cross-border service—serving in an EU Member State. References to Part 6 and its associated practice direction in this Practice Note are to the provisions in force prior to 31 December 2020 at 11 pm: Key documents • Withdrawal Agreement—is defined in section 39(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (EU(WA)A 2020) as the agreement between the UK and the EU under Article 50(2) of the Treaty

A–B | C–D | E–H | O–P | Q–V. Immunological medicinal product Article 1(4) of Directive 2001/83/EC (the Pharmaceutical Code) defines immunological medicinal product as any medicinal product consisting of vaccines, toxins, serums or allergen products: • vaccines, toxins and serums cover in particular: ◦ agents used to produce active immunity, such as cholera vaccine, BCG, polio vaccines, smallpox vaccine ◦ agents used to diagnose the state of immunity, including in particular tuberculin and tuberculin PPD, toxins for the Schick and Dick Tests, brucellin ◦ agents used to produce passive immunity, such as diphtheria antitoxin, anti-smallpox globulin, antilymphocytic globulin • ‘allergen product’ means any medicinal product which is intended to identify or induce a specific acquired alteration in the immunological response to an allergising agent In vitro diagnostic medical device (IVD) In vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDs) are tests done on samples such as human blood or tissue to detect diseases or conditions and can be used to monitor a person’s health or for precision medicine purposes. Examples include, genetic, genomic and coronavirus

This Practice Note examines the legal and practical issues for an employer to consider in relation to hybrid working, sometimes known as agile working, blended working or split working patterns or arrangements, where staff attend the workplace for part of their working time and work from home or elsewhere remotely for part of their working time. Hybrid working can be distinguished from pure home working, where the worker works entirely from home, although some employers have had partial homeworking arrangements in place for some time. The concept of hybrid working has emerged from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, during which many employees have been working entirely, or primarily, from home, and it is envisaged that employees will continue to work for part of the time at home, while returning to their workplaces for the remainder. The employer’s approach to hybrid working will vary depending on a number of factors, primarily the nature of the organisation and what it does. For example, it may be relatively straightforward for an office-based employer to offer hybrid working to nearly all of its