A whiff of dystopia in the air

Jean-Luc Soulier, Esq.

The end-of-year-holiday season is fast approaching and it will be proper to wish the best to our loved ones and to all those whose path we have crossed in 2022. It is time to look back at a traumatic year and to prepare ourselves to face the worst scenarios: war, recession, and their consequences.

The worst is never certain but it may happen again.

The general public’s access to information on beneficial owners of companies held invalid

Florence Grangerat, Esq.

In a judgment handed down on November 22, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union, sitting as the Grand Chamber, held that, in the light of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the provision of the so-called anti-money laundering Directive whereby Member States must ensure that the information on the beneficial owners of corporate and other legal entities incorporated within their territory is accessible in all cases to any member of the general public is invalid.

COP27: What outcomes?

Laure Marolleau, Esq.

The 27th session of the Conference of the Parties, or “COP27”, took place from November 6 to 18 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The only noticeable achievement is the creation of a financial fund to compensate for loss and damage caused by extreme weather events.

The specific compensation due to an employee in case of void dismissal can be reduced by the judge only if the employer expressly so requests

Matthieu Blaschczyk, Esq.

Wherever a dismissal is declared null and void because it is based on a prohibited or unlawful ground, the judge is required to examine the other grounds for dismissal, if any, that have been raised in order to determine the amount of the specific compensation to be awarded to the employee… But only if he/she is expressly asked to do so by the employer.

International Perspective: Force Majeure and COVID-19 – Porter Airlines v. Nieuport Aviation Trial Decision

This month, we are pleased to feature a contribution entitled Force Majeure and COVID-19 – Porter Airlines v. Nieuport Aviation Trial Decision, authored by Peter Kolla, partner at the Canadian law firm Goodmans LLP.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented businesses with unprecedented challenges. It was inevitable that litigation would follow, and that the courts would be required to interpret familiar contract terms in light of these decidedly unfamiliar circumstances. Whether parties to a contract could invoke a force majeure clause (sometimes called an “act of God” clause) in response to COVID-19 was the focus of much speculation when the pandemic first hit.

In Porter Airlines Inc. v. Nieuport Aviation Infrastructure Partners GP, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently considered whether a force majeure clause relieved Porter from certain contractual obligations. It also considered whether COVID-19 required Porter’s counterparty to act reasonably in exercising certain of its contractual rights. In the result, the Ontario trial Court held that Porter was not entitled to relief from its contractual obligations as a result of COVID-19, and ordered it to pay substantial damages.

Invitation to two webinars on NFTS and Brands in the Metaverse, and on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)

As part of the WLG | at large '22 event which will take place in December, the World Law Group, a network of 60 leading independent law firms with more than 400 offices in major commercial and financial centers worldwide, of which our Firm is a member, is organizing a series of webinars. The following webinars are open to everyone.

NFTs and Brands in the Metaverse

Metaverse, NFTs, and virtual reality are buzzwords that not only shed a light on an exciting technological future, but also on the immense challenges right owners are facing in this new virtual world. How does the use of brands in the Metaverse relate to traditional brand protection strategies? In how many ways are copyrights created and affected in virtual reality? Can existing regulations be adapted to this new reality to create new legal provisions for the Metaverse in order to grant users and right owners better protection?

These questions, as well as many others, will be explored in this webinar that will be hosted by the Intellectual Property & Information Technology Group of the World Law Group on December 6 at 14:00 UTC.

Free online registration

The G in ESG

A corporation's purpose, the role and makeup of its board of directors, shareholder rights and disclosures, and measuring executive performance are globally recognized as critical factors in corporate governance. How can a better understanding of these factors and the risks involved impact corporate decision-making in today's environment?

These issues will be discussed in this webinar that will be hosted by the Compliance & Investigations Group of the World Law Group on December 7 at 01:00 UTC.

Free online registration