Insights

CJEU: Change in ownership of company renders purchaser liable for anti-competitive behaviour of predecessor

This article is written by Dr Annalies Muscat and Dr Laura SpiteriOn the 14 March 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union ('CJEU') handed down the judgement of Vantaan kaupunki v. Skanska Industrial Solutions Oy, NCC Industry Oy, Asfaltmix Oy where it concluded that if a company changes ownership, the restructured company or the purchasing company can be held liable for the anti-competitive behaviour of its predecessors, not justin public enforcement actions but also in private actions. The case dealt with a group of Finnish companies that formed a cartel in the asphalt market between 1994 and 2002…

Annalies Muscat24th April 2019

Employment and Industrial Relations

Can an Employee Appeal from the Amount of Compensation Established by the Industrial Tribunal?

Chapter 452 of the Laws of Malta limits the right of appeal of an aggrieved party in cases of unfair dismissal and other cases falling within the jurisdiction of the Industrial Tribunal to points of law only. However, the definition of what constitutes a point of law has recently been given quite a wide interpretation by the Court of Appeal. Such an example is the case decided last month, on the 8th March 2019 (64/2017), by the Court of Appeal. The Industrial Tribunal found that the employee who had instituted unfair dismissal proceedings had been unfairly dismissed and awarded him…

Christine Calleja23rd April 2019

Legal Updates

UK CFC rules in breach of Article 107 TFEU

On the 2nd April 2019 the European Commission concluded its high-profile investigation into a UK tax scheme for the intra-group financing of multinationals. The investigation was opened in October 2017 and is a way of ensuring that all companies "pay their fair share of tax". Subject to the investigation were certain UK exemptions on the application of tax avoidance rules to multinationals, which at the time were deemed to potentially fall foul of the EU's state aid regime. The UK has used controlled foreign company rules to prevent companies established within the UK from using a subsidiary based in a…

MamoTCV Advocates23rd April 2019

Legal Updates

EP Approves New Draft Law for Union Whistleblowers

On the 16th April 2019 the European Parliament approved new rules on the disclosure of information regarding illegal, fraudulent or harmful activities acquired in a work-related context.The draft directive recognizes that persons who work for a public or private organisation or are in contact with it in the context of their work-related activities are often the first to know about threats or harm to the public interest which arise in this context. By 'blowing the whistle' these persons play a key role in exposing and preventing breaches of the law that are harmful to the public interest. It is important…

MamoTCV Advocates23rd April 2019

Insurance & Reinsurance

MFSA Issues Note for Information on the General Good Provisions Applicable to European Insurance Undertakings Passporting in Malta

Following the application of the Conduct of Business Rulebook to the insurance sector on the 1st October 2018, there was a lacuna in terms of the rules which European insurance undertakings are required to observe when carrying on cross-border business in Malta on a freedom of services basis. To address this lacuna, on the 16th April 2019, MFSA issued amendments to Chapter 9 of the Insurance Rules on Freedom of Establishment and Freedom to provide Services by a European Insurance Undertaking and a European Reinsurance Undertaking. These amendments identify the rules (also referred to as the general good provisions) in…

Romina Bonnici22nd April 2019

Antitrust, Competition and Trade

European Commission Issues Public Consultation on the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation

The European Commission has issued a public consultation to allow interested parties to provide their feedback with regard to competition issues that arise in vertical relationships. The public consultation period opened on the 4 February 2019 and shall continue to run until the 27 May 2019. This public consultation process follows an 'Evaluation and Fitness Check Roadmap' that was carried out from November to December 2018.1 The Block Exemption Regulation (the 'Regulation'),2 which entered into force in 2010 and shall continue to run until 2022, deals with a category of vertical agreements which the European Commission regards as normally satisfying…

Laura Spiteri12th April 2019