Foreign Exchange Gets Easier
China — Following a pilot programme initiated in August 2001, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (‘SAFE’) has announced reform measures allowing foreign investors to directly settle investment accounts at certain
authorised banks. Previously, all settlements of foreign investors’ capital stock accounts required approval by SAFE before they could be submitted to a bank. Now, individual authorised banks will examine settlements and SAFE will
oversee bank operations. (Source: www.coudert.com.)
Shanghai Plans to Attract New Funds
China — The Shanghai municipal government plans to attract more foreign investment into key infrastructure projects and the financial sector to offset the economic impact of the global slowdown. The first half of the year saw
fixed asset investment increase by 32% over the same period last year, while industrial added value climbed 11.3%. The city will focus on attracting the headquarters of companies with at least US$400m in assets, a total investment
in China of not less than 30m yuan and investment in at least three companies in the country. (Source: www.isinolaw.com.)
Moves to Protect Olympic Insignia
China — Following the selection of Beijing to be the venue for the 29th Olympic Games in 2008, the State Council of China has promulgated the Olympic Signs Protection Regulations to strengthen the protection of the use of
Olympic signs. Under the regulations, no one can use any of the Olympic signs, such as the Five Continents Rings, the Olympic flags, the Olympic emblems and the Olympic anthems, for commercial purposes without the consent of the
relevant rights owner such as the Olympic Committee of China. (Source: www.mondaq.com.)
New Judicial Explanation Benefits House Buyers
China — Homebuyers who are drawn into bankruptcy cases when their developers collapse before their units are completed, will have their interests better protected under regulations issued by China’s Supreme People’s Court.
Under the regulations, banks or any other creditor of a real estate developer will not be allowed to take control of the developer’s project when the developer goes into bankruptcy. (Source: www.isinolaw.com.)
Two Steps Back for Egypt
Egypt, Cairo — US-based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights has spoken out against the arrest of Dr Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a 63-year-old sociology professor and leading advocate for democracy and human rights in Egypt. He was
convicted of embezzlement, receiving foreign funds without permission, and tarnishing Egypt’s image abroad. A High State Security Court in Egypt sentenced him to seven years of hard labour. Dr Ibrahim is known for his work on
democracy, civil society, and the rights of religious minorities in Egypt. (Source: www.lchr.org.)
Feminists Clash Over Prostitution
France — A woman MP’s proposal to regulate prostitution by reopening France’s authorised brothels has sparked a bitter dispute between two of the country’s best-known feminist intellectuals. Gisele Halimi, a radical lawyer and
writer, and the best-selling author and philosophy teacher Elisabeth Badinter, are both devoted disciples of one of feminism’s most iconic figures, Simone de Beauvoir. Ms Halimi, who worked as a lawyer for de Beauvoir said,
‘prostitution is the paroxysm of a woman’s non-power over herself. Whatever anyone says, no woman chooses freely to make her body the object of an exchange of money for pleasure’. Ms Badinter argued, on the contrary, that
prostitution should fall under ‘a law that was hard won barely 30 years ago: the right to dispose freely of one’s body’. (Source: www.guardian.co.uk.)
Plot to Kill Belfast Lawyers Revealed
UK, Northern Ireland — An inquiry has revealed a plot by a loyalist gang to shoot two lawyers listed in British army intelligence files as being ‘sympathetic’ to the IRA. The gang that assassinated solicitor Patrick Finucane
in February 1989 had planned to shoot Patrick McGrory and his one-time pupil, Oliver Kelly. Like Finucane, Mr McGrory and Mr Kelly often represented clients on IRA charges. (Source: www.guardian.co.uk.)
UK Lawyers Following Lead of US Cousins
UK — US-style collective legal action has become all the rage for UK investors and a sharpening headache for directors. The UK is witnessing a growing number of class actions, where groups of individuals band together to seek
redress against financial or other institutions. Critics say solicitors in Britain are adopting the habits of their rapacious cousins across the Atlantic, encouraging the man and woman in the street to become involved in expensive
court battles which they have no guarantee of winning. (Source: www.guardian.co.uk.)
Immunity for Marijuana Users in California
US, California — California’s Supreme Court has granted medical marijuana users some immunity from prosecution. While the State’s medical marijuana laws do not immunise users from arrest, they now allow qualified users to
present a medical defence at trial or to avoid trial altogether by moving to set aside their charge. Supporters say the ruling requires courts and law enforcement officials to treat qualified users of medical marijuana the same as
any prescription drug user. (Source: www.metnews.com.)
Nissan Forks out US$14.4 million
US, New Jersey — A design defect in the American version of Nissan’s 1995 Maxima GXE has cost the automaker US$14.4 million in compensation for a New Jersey man seriously injured while driving one. A head-on collision left the
man partially blind, with multiple fractures, orthopaedic injuries and ‘the mentality of a 5-year-old child’, according to his lawyer. The plaintiff’s family alleged that a defect in the car caused him to be propelled forward
rather than keeping him restrained. They also pointed out that a safety feature present on the European version of the 1995 Maxima GXE would have prevented brain injuries. (Source: www.law.com.)
US Corporate Lawyers Put on Notice
US, Washington — The Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’) has warned US corporate lawyers that they will be held to account for business wrongdoing more than ever before under new laws adopted amid a flood of Wall Street
scandals. Under a new law on 30 July 2002, the SEC must adopt ‘minimum standards of professional conduct for attorneys’ who represent roughly 17,000 SEC-regulated companies. (Source: www.fingaz.co.zw.)