Committee publications
Member States and employers to get ready for more pay transparency in the European Union
On 10 May 2023, the European Union (EU) adopted the Pay Transparency Directive to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (‘the Pay Transparency Directive’ or the ‘Directive’). Member States have until 7 June 2026 to transpose the Directive into their national laws.
Released on Apr 25, 2024
Information and Communication Technologies and its impact on the Generation Gap
In the era of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the immediacy of communications, customers increasingly expect concise, fast and precise responses. Promptly answering to the business requirements is pivotal. Like industrial organisations, those that offer services also need to adapt their processes and resources to meet this demand for agility and efficiency. Digitalisation has become a vital tool to satisfy these needs. It optimises, simplifies and facilitates tasks, increases productivity and improves results. But, for whom?
Released on Apr 25, 2024
Gender pay equality – what is the United Kingdom waiting for?
This article examines the progress of gender pay equality in the UK as of 2024 and considers the possibility of reducing the ‘pay gap’ in the future, looking at developments in certain industries and the EU and US which could be adopted more generally in the UK.
Released on Apr 25, 2024
Neurodiversity at the workplace: what employers need to know
Neurodiversity requires a more open and active conversation at the workplace. Small efforts from corporations to sensitively approach the subject could go a long way in making the workplace more inclusive for neurodiverse individuals.
Released on Apr 25, 2024
Artificial intelligence in HR processes: the boundaries of Italian employment law
Italy has recently experienced an increase in the adoption of AI-assisted tools among employers seeking to leverage technology to enhance HR efficiency and decision-making processes. This is particularly so in talent identification/recruitment processes and in training/performance-measurement areas. However, the Italian legal framework (ie the applicable laws, some of them dating many years ago, and how they are interpreted by the courts, tend to be rather restrictive) poses significant limitations on the implementation of AI-driven tools, principally as concerns regarding the safeguarding of workers’ rights, transparency and data protection, information to unions and non-discrimination. This contribution tries to focus on how to balance such restrictions with the need to keep pace with the advances in AI, which are expected to reshape the HR world.
Released on Apr 25, 2024
Rethinking Indian law on equal pay: towards gender pay equality in workplace
This article discusses the Indian legal framework on equal pay and analyses how the principle of ‘equal pay for same work or work of similar nature’ limis the efficacy of addressing the complex dynamics of pay inequality. Furthermore, the article explores the broader concept of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value to tackle the long-standing issue of gender pay disparity in workplaces.
Released on Apr 25, 2024
Construction Law International (CLInt)
Construction Law International is the magazine of the IBA International Construction Projects Committee. Launched in March 2006 and published quarterly, it is a thought-provoking magazine with a balance of substantive and practical articles and news that anyone involved in the international construction industry will wish to read.
Released on Apr 23, 2024
Compensation for overseas victims of corruption
In this podcast, Tim Harris, Podcast Officer on the IBA Anti-Corruption Committee and financial crime lawyer at Cohen & Gresser, speaks to Lord Edward Garnier KC, barrister and member of the House of Lords, and Nicola Bonucci, criminal lawyer and former Director of Legal Affairs at the OECD, on the subject of the current approach in the UK and Europe to compensation for overseas victims of economic crime.
Released on Apr 17, 2024
Guidelines and Regulations to Provide Insights on Public Policies to Ensure AI’s Beneficial Use as a Professional Tool
The Artificial Intelligence Working Group of the IBA Alternative New Law and Business Structures (ANLBS) Committee presents a comprehensive, up to date guide to the use of artificial intelligence as a professional tool, covering the main multilateral organisations and nine jurisdictions worldwide.
Released on Apr 15, 2024
When is a scam a fraud under Swiss criminal law?
In financial matters, there are numerous cases of scammers promising investors a high return in a short period of time. To target potential victims, scammers show boundless imagination and use all kinds of manoeuvres. They present themselves as providers of cutting-edge financial services, relying in particular on attractive subjects such as cryptocurrency. For Swiss criminal courts, however, there is an important and sometimes difficult distinction between a scam where the investor is the victim of a fraud and a high-risk investment based on aggressive promotional strategies.
Released on Apr 15, 2024
A dream come true: Black Swan freestanding orders are expressly made available in Cyprus
The implementation of the new Civil Procedure Rules in Cyprus, coupled with amendments in the legislature, make Black Swan freestanding orders a dream come true, adding to the tools available for asset recovery legal practitioners.
Released on Apr 15, 2024
Dispute resolution: redress and remediation in complex crypto litigation
Disputes involving crypto assets can have their own unique and sometimes novel challenges. To seek redress, litigants have had to rely on existing dispute resolution mechanisms and traditional legal remedies, with varying levels of success.
Released on Apr 15, 2024
The UK’s new failure to prevent fraud offence – should crypto firms brace for impact?
The United Kingdom recently introduced legislation which expands the scope of corporate criminal liability. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (the Act) aims to strengthen the UK’s response to financial crime through an array of measures. For crypto firms, the primary touchpoints in the Act are the standalone provisions which concern crypto assets in Part 4. Those provisions are focused on the powers of UK law enforcement agencies to seize and recover crypto assets and enable the seizure and forfeiture of crypto assets believed to be the proceeds of crime, or which are connected to terrorism on reasonable grounds without first requiring a criminal conviction. This article, however, considers how the introduction in Part 5 of the Act of a new offence of failing to prevent fraud, that may have a wider impact on crypto firms and make it easier for criminal prosecutions to be brought against organisations.
Released on Apr 15, 2024
Seizure of Russian assets in Ukraine: in search of balance
As of now, it makes no sense to calculate the exact cost of damages inflicted by the aggression of the Russian Federation: every day brings millions, and sometimes even dozens of millions of dollars in material damages, along with non-material losses that cannot yet be accurately measured. It also makes no sense to rely on voluntary compensation from the Russian Federation. Therefore, under these circumstances, the only realistic source of funding to compensate Ukraine for the damage caused by aggression is frozen Russian assets. Over the last year and a half, the subject of their confiscation has been widely discussed, but progress has been more than modest.
Released on Apr 15, 2024
Book review: Invisible Trillions: How Financial Secrecy is Imperilling Capitalism and Democracy – and the Way to Renew Our Broken System
In his latest book, published on 31 January 2023 by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Raymond Baker exposes the dark side of capitalism and how financial secrecy is undermining democracy and the rule of law.
Released on Apr 15, 2024
The regulation of foundation models in the EU AI Act
Among the various aspects of the EU artificial intelligence (AI) regulation (“the ‘AI Act’), that of the foundation models was one of the most controversial and contentious of the entire interinstitutional negotiation, capable right up until the end of derailing the agreement in the trilogue and spreading uncertainty even up to the date of the definitive approval by part of the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union (Coreper) on 2 February 2024.
Released on Apr 12, 2024
‘How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs?’: A brief overview of the European Commission White Paper
On 21 February, the European Commission published a White Paper on ‘How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs?’ in view of the technological, economic and geopolitical challenges facing the EU in the digital decade. This White Paper identifies key trends and challenges in the digital infrastructure sector and discusses possible scenarios for public policy actions, such as a possible future Digital Networks Act, which aims to incentivise the building of the digital networks of the future, master the transition to new technologies and business models, meet the future connectivity needs of all end-users, underpin the competitiveness of our economy, and ensure secure and resilient infrastructures as well as the EU’s economic security. The White Paper proposes three main pillars of action: creating the 3C Network – ‘Connected Collaborative Computing’; completing the Digital Single Market; and ensuring secure and resilient digital infrastructures for Europe. It launches a broad consultation of stakeholders and invites comments until 30 June 2024. This article provides a summary of the White Paper.
Released on Apr 12, 2024
Pakistan's IT and ITeS export strategy: a gateway to economic prosperity and global recognition
Pakistan's recent launch of its first-ever information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITeS) Export Strategy, which aims to raise IT exports to $10 billion over the next three years, represents a pivotal moment in the country's economic and technological progress.
Released on Apr 12, 2024
Tackling interconnect debts in the Nigerian telecommunications industry
A troubling feature of interconnection relationships in Nigeria is the huge interconnect debt profile of many operators. It appears that some operators have taken undue advantage of the fact that their creditors cannot unilaterally disconnect without the approval of the telecoms industry regulator.
Released on Apr 12, 2024
Investment and deployment of submarine cables: achieving a friendlier national and European regulatory environment
This article explores the Portuguese and European regulatory environment for the growing submarine telecommunications cables industry. It juxtaposes Portugal's proactive strategies to simplify the installation process with the current and upcoming European and national frameworks governing this sector, thus offering valuable insights for potential investors in this industry.
Released on Apr 12, 2024
Regulation of access to telecom physical infrastructure for deployment of electronic communications networks in Bulgaria: model for infrastructure access regulation or going in circles?
The Bulgarian Communications Regulation Commission plans to reinstate the asymmetrical regulation of access to telecom physical infrastructure for the deployment of electronic communications networks, which was withdrawn in its last market analysis of the wholesale local access market in 2019.
Released on Apr 12, 2024
International competition to capture remote workers: the increasing use of EOR companies
The increase in remote working and digital nomadism, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, has caused countries to adopt innovative policies to attract and retain remote workers. This article examines the major attractions for digital nomads, the compliance risks associated with working remotely, and the role of Employer of Record (EOR) services utilised in international employment.
Released on Apr 9, 2024
Hungary’s new Guest Investor Programme
The new Hungarian law on ‘General rules for the entry and residence of third-country nationals’ has introduced the Guest Investor Residency Programme. A significant part of the legislation became effective from 1 January 2024, however, the special provisions governing the Golden Visa will enter into force from 1 July 2024. From that point onwards, Golden Visa investors can obtain a ten-year residence permit for investing in a Hungarian real estate fund worth at least €250,000 or purchasing residential real estate in Hungary worth at least €500,000.
Released on Apr 9, 2024
US Citizenship and Immigration Services substantially raises its fees
This article covers the recent raise in the US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ fees and the opposition the move has faced.
Released on Apr 9, 2024
Transitioning into a ‘brave new world’ of Pillar Two
The panel discussion was focused on the critical aspects and potential impact of the OECD Pillar Two Model Rules framework on various tax and corporate structures. The first segment of the discussion was dedicated to how Pillar Two affects investment funds, certain International Financial Reporting Standards definitions and considerations, the particulars concerning joint ventures and the ramifications of Pillar Two in the context of mergers and acquisitions. The first half of the discussion highlighted the critical factors that must be taken into account for the strategic structuring of investments in accordance with Pillar Two. In the second half, attention shifted towards a comprehensive review of the recent developments in regard to US foreign tax credits, a topic of significant relevance given its potential influence on cross-border investments and the international tax landscape.
Released on Apr 8, 2024
M&A in turbulent times – how to get the deal done (2024)
This session focused on four topics in regard to mergers and acquisitions (M&A): (1) redomiciliations, (2) spin-offs and demergers, (3) selected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Pillar Two topics focusing on contractual clauses and (4) transfer taxes. For most of the agenda items, the local special rules and practical takeaways were highlighted.
Released on Apr 8, 2024
Securitisation and derivatives markets (2024)
The panel examined the latest trends on securitisation transactions from a tax perspective in various jurisdictions. The presentation focused on new case law on securitisation funds, US rules for withholding on structured notes, the European Union’s Faster and Safer Relief of Excess Withholding Taxes proposal, derivative taxation in the UK and, finally, beneficial ownership and the payment of dividends and interest in various European countries.
Released on Apr 8, 2024
Crypto is crazy – non-fungible tokens are crazier still
The panel examined recent developments regarding the taxation of crypto-assets in various jurisdictions. The presentation focused on what non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are, important definitions in recent OECD rules and EU regulations dealing with crypto-assets and the EU’s tax transparency rules for crypto-asset transactions, the value-added tax-treatment of transactions concerning crypto-assets and NFT platforms in the United Kingdom and, finally, the income tax treatment in the United States and Italy.
Released on Apr 8, 2024
Permanent establishment (2024)
The concept of permanent establishment (PE) is one of the key issues in international taxation, as it determines the allocation of taxing rights between source and residence countries. However, the traditional PE concept, based on physical presence and agency, is facing new challenges in the context of hybrid and distance working, the digital economy and multilateral instruments. This panel, held at the IBA congress on 15 January 2024, aimed to explore the recent developments and difficulties related to the PE concept from different perspectives and jurisdictions. The panel was chaired by Raul-Angelo Papotti, and featured five speakers from Denmark, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Released on Apr 8, 2024
Holding companies: which jurisdiction is the best?
The panel discussed the present application and significance of holding companies, specifically special purpose vehicles (SPVs), from the viewpoints of several key jurisdictions: Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, Dubai and Luxembourg. The primary focus of the discussion centred on evaluating the relevance and impact of holding companies within the framework of both international and European Union regulatory progression, particularly in light of the proposed Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive 3 (ATAD 3), аs well as what is the most appropriate jurisdiction to register an SPV. The conversation explored the implications of these regulatory changes for holding companies, assessing their operational viability and strategic importance in the international tax landscape.
Released on Apr 8, 2024