Alongside the proposed revision of the PLD (blogged here) the Commission recently published its proposal for a new “Directive on adapting non-contractual civil liability rules to artificial intelligence (AI Liability...more
A High Court deputy judge has refused an application to adjourn a five-week trial over concerns about conducting a remote trial in light of the COVID-19 health crisis.
Background -
The applicants in In the matter of One...more
The Lord Chief Justice has announced that English courts are planning to continue with court hearings. He noted that "we must make every effort to maintain a functioning court system in support of the administration of...more
With the COVID-19 pandemic causing major disruption globally, the incidence of commercial parties seeking to avoid liability for failure to perform by reliance on force majeure (FM) clauses is set to increase. While FM...more
On 19 February 2020, the European Commission released a white paper with its long-awaited proposals on regulating artificial intelligence.
The white paper contains far-reaching proposals that, if adopted, could have a...more
In October 2016, the International Development Committee put forward 13 recommendations for the improvement of the UK Government efforts to tackle overseas corruption. Last month the UK Government published its response....more
The Government is due to publish a new proceeds of crime bill tomorrow, which will introduce Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs), as reported in The Times (paywall).
UWOs would allow the police to apply for an order to...more
In a landmark ruling the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the court of final appeal for the UK overseas territories and Crown dependencies) has, for the first time, allowed the equitable process of tracing to be...more
However, before we pack our bags it is worth reflecting on David Cameron’s recent speech in Singapore where he addressed the threat posed by corruption worldwide. We were particularly interested in his comments on how the UK...more
A report published yesterday by Global Witness, alleging that an individual with ties to a former Kazakh public official owns large swathes of London, follows much recent interest in the issue of public officials owning...more
Bribery. States often have to decide to exit or continue with contracts procured by bribes paid to public officials. Bribery gives rise to various types of claim. We have previously covered claims to recover the value of...more
Who can be sued? Knowing Receipt is an “equitable claim” for personal relief against a recipient of tainted assets. It is often deployed in circumstances of bribery and corruption, particularly in claims to recover stolen...more
Who can be sued? A civil claim for bribery can usually be made against the bribe-payer and the bribe-recipient.
When does it apply? The tort of bribery is founded on the legal relationship of principal (the state) and...more
To what extent must a bank make inquiries as to the commercial purpose of a transaction, particularly a transaction involving an offshore structure? And when is a bank liable to compensate a victim of theft for receiving...more
Take a simple bribery scenario. A foreign Government Minister is the key decision-maker for the award of a contract to build and operate infrastructure, say a toll road. A UK contractor wins the contract in a purportedly...more
Civil proceedings brought by the state are one mechanism to recover the proceeds of crime, or to claim compensation for corrupt acts: as discussed in our previous post Recovering the proceeds of corruption: an overview....more
Civil proceedings brought by the state or a state entity are one mechanism to recover the proceeds of corruption, or to claim compensation for corrupt acts.
Typically, substantial corruption cases are international in...more
Companies are competing to win a contract. One pays a bribe to exclude its competitor from the bidding process, or to win the contract. If caught, it faces prosecution under the UK's Bribery Act 2010, as do its bribing...more
Cooley discusses the legal options open to states seeking to locate, freeze and recover the proceeds of corruption laundered to foreign states, and considers their advantages and disadvantages.
Corruption cases are...more
A public official receives a bribe to award a contract. Does the bribe "belong" to the official or to the state that he or she represents? The answer to the question can matter a great deal to the success of a claim. But the...more