Briefs

Measures to Protect and Control SARS
China — Guizhou Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation Office implemented seven measures for SARS protection, control and economic work. The seven measures include: (a) more confidence in the relationship between SARS protection and economic development; (b) more attention on imports and exports; (c) more time to be spent on propaganda and explanation for the avoidance of suspicion from the outside world and the international market; (d) more flexible trading mode and use of e-commerce; (e) policies on exports to remain stable and continuous; (f) guaranteeing there will be no imported SARS cases and (g) attention to be given to the impact of SARS on imports, exports, key enterprises, markets and products. (Source: www.isinolaw.com.)

Preferential Policies for SARS Hit Industries
China — To help industries, regions and enterprises that have been severely hit by SARS, the People’s Bank of China has issued a series of preferential policies. These policies include providing low-interest credit to SARS-hit regions, giving discounted loans to the civil aviation, tourism and trade industries, and offering loans to enterprises which encounter turnover difficulties due to the SARS outbreak. (Source: www.isinolaw.com.)

Historic Anti-Smoking Pact
Geneva — The World Health Organisation has adopted a sweeping anti-tobacco treaty. The unprecedented global support pushed the treaty that aims to stop hard selling tactics aimed at adolescents and to strip tobacco of its image of being glamorous and in fashion. It also provides for tougher international measures against second-hand smoke and cigarette smuggling and espouses manufacturer liability. It also provides for a general ban on tobacco advertising and promotion. The treaty states health warnings, including pictures of diseased gums and lungs, should ideally cover at least half the package. It also encourages governments to clamp down on words such as ‘mild’ and ‘low tar’. The treaty comes into effect once 40 countries have ratified it. Currently governments in Japan, China and European Union have agreed to move quickly to speed up the signature and ratification. The United States of America is the only notable exception to the commitment to sign and ratify as they are still ‘reviewing the text of the convention’. (Source: news.findlaw.com.)

Personal Data Protection Bills
Japan — A set of controversial Bills intended to protect personal information held by administrative bodies and private businesses are expected to be approved and enacted. If enacted, the Bills will regulate the collecting and use of personal data by both administrative bodies and private businesses. Opposition parties have argued that the proposed laws are too lenient for bureaucrats and too severe for the private sector. (Source: www.japantimes.co.jp.)

Online Music
Spain — A music website claims that it has found a loophole in Spanish copyright law so that it can sell songs online without the direct permission of the record companies. The music industry, however, believes that this claim has no legal basis and intends to put up a vehement fight. (Source: news.bbc.co.uk.)

Wearing of Wigs in Court
UK — The President of the Law Society has commented that wigs should be abolished as it is important for court users to not feel intimidated or alienated by the way the lawyers dress in court. Presently, only barristers wear wigs while solicitors do not; in court, QCs appear at the front bench while all other advocates at the row behind. She wanted this to cease as it created a perception among victims or defendants that the other party’s advocate had an advantage. The Law Society is pushing for the abolition of wigs so that people feel confident that their case will obtain a fair hearing and in order to achieve that, the society wants all advocates to be treated equally. (Source: www.lawzone.co.uk.)

Genetic Discrimination Ban
US — A Senate Committee has approved legislation to bar employers and insurers from discriminating against people based on genetic information. Advances in genetics make it possible to identify people’s predisposition to cancer, heart attack and other diseases. Under the Bill, neither insurers nor employers could ask for genetic information or require people to take genetic tests. (Source: news.findlaw.com.)

Car ‘Black-box’
US, Florida — Every new General Motors car, as well as vehicles made by nearly a dozen other manufacturers, is equipped with a recording device which is hidden under the dashboard or seat. The gadget, known as an event data recorder, has been used as evidence in a car-crash trial where the driver was convicted of manslaughter and vehicular homicide. The recorder, originally developed to provide carmakers with crash data to improve safety, is expected to make more court appearances. While the information belongs to the car owners, it must be yielded under court order. (Source: www.msnbc.com.)

Verdict in Tobacco Case Overturned
US, Miami — The Court of Appeal overturned a US$145bn verdict in favour of thousands of Florida smokers against the tobacco industry. The US$145bn verdict, the largest punitive damages in US history, was brought by class action. The sweeping victory for cigarette makers was brought about by a three-judge panel who unanimously decided that a class action should not have been brought. The court held that each smoker’s claim was unique and individual and therefore it should not have been tried collectively in a class action. The court further ruled that punitive damages should not be set at an amount that will bankrupt the defendant company. The court stated that: ‘The amount awarded should be large enough to provide retribution and deterrence, but cannot be so great as to result in bankruptcy’. (Source: www.law.com.)