On May 14, 2020, the Portuguese Parliament passed Law no. 16/2020, dated May 29, making the fourth amendment to Law no. 1-A/2020, dated March 19, determining various exceptional and temporary measures in response to the epidemic caused by the SARS CoV-2 coronavirus and the COVID-19 infectious disease, affecting the area of Justice and the Courts, significantly including the suspension of procedural time limits (albeit with certain limitations and exceptions). Consult our April 7 Alert.
COVID-19 is particularly and adversely affecting shipping, in a similar way to events in many other industries. We examine what key legal issues need to be addressed by the shipping industry, the legislation approved on this subject in recent weeks, and whether force majeure and the rebus sic stantibus doctrine could potentially operate.
The General Court of the European Union has refused the registration of the trademark "XOXO", considering that it does not fulfill the function of identifying the business origin because it has a merely promotional meaning: love and affection.
Royal Decree-Law 19/2020 states that the three-month time period for preparing financial statements and other documents required by law will start to run from June 1, 2020, and reduces the time period for approving financial statements to two months running from the end of the time period for their preparation. In keeping with the new time periods for preparation and approval of the financial statements, it is allowed to file a second corporate income tax self-assessment until November 30, 2020. Additionally, amendments are introduced to the rules on tax deferrals for small and medium-sized companies and the self-employed along with a new stamp tax exemption; and a later date has been determined for publication of the list of delinquent tax payers.
Given the current situation with the global pandemic of COVID-19, the number of health professionals who offer their services through different types of applications and remote means of communication has increased, which could involve the collection, storage and use of patient’s personal data.
Despite uncertainties on arbitration regulations in China, the countrie´s arbitral institutions push to offer the best alternatives to adapt to the “new normal”.
On May 15, the Ministry of Energy of Mexico (SENER) published in the evening edition of the Official Gazette of the Federation an executive order issuing the new Policy towards the Reliability, Safety, Continuity and Quality of the National Electric System (the Policy), substituting the reliability policy issued on February 2017.
