Featured Articles
Does India Need a Work Permit Regime?
Anil Malhotra
Ranjit Malhotra
Business visa regulations for India are divided between different laws and the guidelines set up by the Reserve Bank of India. This article builds up a case for India to introduce a consolidated work permit regime, which in the present economic scenario is vital. This becomes especially relevant in the light of the massive foreign direct investment taking place in India. The massive liberalisation of the Indian economy in the last decade has promoted innumerable joint venture investments that involve the movement of manpower, machinery and technology.
The Great US Immigration Policy Debate
Austin Fragomen
The immigration debate that began with the president’s announcement of immigration reform in January 2004, has intensified with the passage of immigration bills in both the house and senate. This issue has divided our country along several ideological fault lines.
Compliance by International Banking Organisations: The Need for Prioritisation, Balance and Cooperation
H Rodgin Cohen
For all banks, compliance with legal and regulatory requirements has become the highest priority. Throughout the world, regulators and law enforcement authorities are imposing higher standards, searching more vigorously for violations and punishing violators more severely. Neither common practice nor the absence of prior regulatory criticism is a defence.
The Next Frontier - European Community External Aviation Matters
John Balfour
Some three-and-a-half years on from the judgment of the European Court of Justice in the so-called ‘open skies’ cases, it has become apparent that it was a landmark ruling which is now having very significant practical effects, in much the same way as the ‘Nouvelles Frontières’ judgment in 1986, on an apparently rather technical point concerning cross-border ticketing, paved the way for the creation of the internal aviation market in the EC.
The Cape Town Convention And Its Effects on Aircraft Financing and Leasing
Rod Margo
Michael Holland
The Cape Town Convention came into effect on 1 March, 2006 for the nine countries which ratified the convention and the Aviation Protocol. The Cape Town Convention represents the successful culmination of some 10 years’ work by bankers, lawyers, lessors and financing companies to create a treaty which provides security for aircraft and engine lessors as well as reduced financing costs for lessees. The nine countries party to the convention are Ethiopia, Ireland, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Senegal and the United States. The European Community is actively pursuing ratification and it is likely that the nations of the community will become contracting states in late 2006 or early 2007. It is anticipated that three countries with formidable aviation interests, China, India and Russia, will also ratify the Cape Town Convention in the near future.
The Privatisation of the German ATC Organisation DFS
P Nikolai Ehlers
Thorsten Ebermann
These days, the German air traffic control organisation Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) is facing significant and challenging changes. As a result of establishing the Single European Sky (SES) through several air traffic control regulations of the EU in 2004, it became necessary to adjust German air traffic control accordingly.
The Travel Company's Perspective
Eddie Redfern
Group head of aviation regulation & industry affairs, First Choice Holidays
As a leading international leisure travel company, First Choice Holidays will at any given moment be focusing on a number of areas, some of which are constant like the environment others of which cover specific matters such as aviation bilateral regulation and border control policies. We identify and work on these issues using both internal and external experts.
How to Hire Foreign Counsel
Yvonne Ramos
Assistant general counsel & director of governmental and community affairs Spirit Airlines
Business executives often find the need to hire foreign counsel in today’s accelerating competitive aviation industry. Following are a few suggestions that could be helpful when deciding precisely which foreign attorney or firm to hire
Canadian Tax Aspects of Creating Leverage in Subsidiary Operations
Richard Tremblay
Gregory Wylie
Multinational groups with Canadian subsidiaries are typically keen to adopt strategies to introduce leverage into their Canadian operations. The goal is to use deductible interest to reduce the Canadian subsidiary’s (‘Canco’) tax rate. Other considerations can also come into play. Foreign tax credit planning, for example, can mandate that funds be repatriated from Canada. This introduction is an overview of select Canadian tax considerations, relevant to a multinational group undertaking a financing transaction to introduce leverage into Canco.
US-Style Securities Class Actions: Coming Soon to a Jurisdiction Near You?
Sonya Leydecker
In the US, any fraud or financial irregularity or even a significant fall in the share price, will inevitably lead to class action litigation. This also extends to foreign corporates and intermediaries which do business in the US.