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
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
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
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
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