Legal Eye - November 2010
Company
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation has published a consultation document on the implementation of the EU Directive on reporting and documentation requirements in the case of mergers and divisions. The Directive aims to reduce administrative burdens on limited companies undertaking mergers or divisions. It allows for the relaxation of reporting requirements and the use of the internet/other electronic means for the publication of documents. The Directive is due to be implemented by 30 June 2011 and the consultation is open until 28 September 2010.
Licensing
The Minister for Justice and Law Reform has launched the Test Purchasing of alcohol scheme and related guidelines (21 September 2010). The scheme is designed to test the compliance of licensed premises with the prohibition of sale of alcohol to those who are under 18. The Gardaí will be allowed to send 15, 16 or 17 year olds into licensed premises for the purposes of buying alcohol and if a sale takes place the premises will be prosecuted. Under existing laws a licensee convicted of selling alcohol to under aged persons can have a closure order imposed on the premises for between 2 and 7 days and/or a fine of up to €3000 for a first offence. The scheme will start on 1 October.
Family
The Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010 provides for a number of proposed amendments to civil and regulatory law. One notable proposed amendment is the amendment of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976 so as to decouple family law maintenance debt from civil debt. The 2009 McCann case on civil debt and the consequent Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Act, 2009 inserted a series of amendments designed to protect debtors and impose obligations on creditors but gave rise to difficulties in some family law cases. The amendment now recognises that a court has already deliberated in setting an appropriate level of maintenance and that if the debtor breaches an order without a significant change in his/her circumstances, that breach will constitute contempt of court…
…the President signed the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009 on 19 July 2010. The Bill (now an Act) provides for legal recognition of same sex couples and the registration of opposite sex couples as partners. It also introduces a cohabitants’ redress scheme so as to provide a safety net for financially dependent long-term cohabitants at the end of a relationship. The Act will be commenced once a number of changes have been made to the tax and social welfare codes.
Property/Planning
The Planning and Development (Amendment) Act was signed into law by the President on 26 July 2010 and a commencement order brought some sections of the Act into operation on 19 August while other sections will come into force on 28 September. The Act introduces a number of substantive amendments in relation to planning law including; a requirement that all development plans and local area plans are consistent with national and regional planning policy; changes to the circumstances that permits an extension to the duration of planning permission; the introduction of substitute consent in exceptional circumstances for retention planning applications; amendments to penalty provisions and amendment to environmental impact assessments.
Medical
Provisions relating to the ongoing professional development and competencies of medical practitioners came into force at the beginning of May 2010. Under Part 11 of the Medical Practitioners Act, 2007, within 1 year of the commencement order the Medical Council will be required to develop and operate one or more schemes of competence assurance, submit it to the Minister for Health and Children to consider and develop statutory rules on the operation of the scheme.
Media
The Press Council became formally and statutorily recognised under the Defamation Act 2009 at the end of April 2010.
Private Client
Further sections of the Charities Act, 2009 were commenced in July 2010. Section 90 of the Act protects charity trustees who fulfil their duties in good faith by giving power to the courts to grant relief (in whole or in part) to charity trustees from personal liability for breach of trust, where it appears to the court that the trustee acted honestly and reasonably.
Competition
The new EU Block Exemption Regulation came into force on 1 June 2010. The Regulation exempts certain categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices from the provisions of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (which prohibits practices distorting or restricting competition in the market in the trade of goods and services within the EU). .. …the Competition Authority (in conjunction with the Director of Public Prosecutions) is undertaking a review of the Cartel Immunity programme which has been in operation since 2001. These changes attempt to make the Cartel Immunity Programme more self-contained, transparent and attractive to potential applicants, therefore making it a more effective tool in the ongoing fight against cartels.
Employment
Some EU Member States, including Ireland, have 2 years in which to transpose provisions of the new EU Directive on Parental leave which was adopted in March 2010. Amongst other things, the Directive extends the entitlement to parental leave from 3 to 4 months. Click here for more information on its provisions.