News-Archive

InsuranceCorporate Insurance23.08.2022 Newsletter

Frankfurt Higher Regional Court: insurance brokers may be obliged to draw attention to exclusions of cover

An insurance broker may in exceptional cases be obliged to draw an insured party’s attention to certain exclusions of cover. This was confirmed by the Higher Regional Court [Oberlandesgericht - OLG] of Frankfurt.

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Compliance risk: excessive remuneration of works council members constitutes a criminal act of breach of trust

Last year, by judgement dated 28 September 2021 (16 KLs 406 Js 59398/16 inter alia), the Regional Court [Landgericht, LG] of Braunschweig acquitted four high-ranking managers of the VW Group of the charge of breach of trust due to excessive works council remuneration. However, it is clear from the recently published reasons for the judgement that the judges nevertheless considered the objective fact for constituting a breach of trust pursuant to Sec. 266 (1) of the German Criminal Code [Strafgesetzbuch, StGB] to have been fulfilled.

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IEL Guide to Whistleblowing - Germany

Unsere Arbeitsrechtsexperten Isabel Hexel und Johannes Peter Kaesbach haben das deutsche Kapitel für den IEL Guide to Whistleblowing verfasst.

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Employment Law17.08.2022 Newsletter

Foreign postings in the context of the amended German Act on Proof of Working Conditions and the EU Working Conditions Directive

Everyone is currently talking about the implementation of the EU Working Conditions Directive in the German Act on Proof of Working Conditions Governing an Employment Relationship [Nachweisgesetz, NachwG]. The new obligations to provide information and proof also affect employee postings abroad. Companies will therefore also have to take action in this respect, which we have summarised below.

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Retail and Consumer Goods12.08.2022 Newsletter

Innovations in e-commerce: distribution-related antitrust law and gatekeepers

Antitrust law currently entails innovations for e-commerce on an almost daily basis. Besides the advancing regulation of gatekeepers, the "rules of the game" of distribution-related antitrust law have also been modernised.

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BGH: Application of German law on compulsory portions despite choice of law in favour of English law

In its judgement of 29 June 2022 (Case No. IV ZR 110/21), the Bundesgerichtshof ruled that the application of English inheritance law based on a choice of law in the testamentary disposition is contrary to German ordre public if this deprives children of their entitlement to a compulsory por-tion independent of their needs and there is a sufficient domestic connection. The BGH thus con-firms the previous decision of the Higher Regional Court of Cologne (judgement of 22 April 2021 - 24 U 77/20, ZEV 2021, 698).

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Proposal for a new EU sustainability directive: do companies face even stricter due diligence requirements along the supply chain?

The European Commission submitted a proposal for a new directive on corporate sustainability requirements to the European Union in Brussels on 23 February 2022 (so-called "Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937"). Its purpose is to promote sustainable business behaviour in relation to supply chains, especially in activities with an impact on human rights and the environment.

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04.08.2022 Newsletter

Russia sanctions: BAFA's General Permit on restrictions regarding public contracts

On 8 April 2022, for the first time since the start of the Ukraine war, the EU issued prohibitions on awarding and performing public contracts and concessions. The bans entered into force as part of the fifth package of sanctions against Russia and are applicable directly.

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Oppenhoff advises world's largest cable manufacturer Prysmian on sustainability-linked loan of €1.2 billion

Oppenhoff has advised the world's leading cable manufacturer Prysmian S.p.A. on its first sustainability-linked loan in the amount of €1.2 billion. The loan was provided by a consortium of Italian and international banks.

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Düsseldorf Regional Court on unfair e-mail advertising of broker services

The Düsseldorf Regional Court has ruled that, under certain circumstances, an insurance broker must accept being attributed with the unfair conduct of an advertising agency commissioned by him (judgement of 16 June 2021, 12 O 10/21).

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