On 1 January 2022, Switzerland introduced due diligence and reporting requirements to address risks in the supply chains of Switzerland-based businesses related to child labor and so-called conflict minerals. On 24 May 2024, the European Council adopted the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D), which imposes EU-level due diligence requirements in the value chain (i.e., upstream and downstream), on top of existing regulations in this area at the EU member state level.
In this update, we provide an overview of the evolving regulatory landscape of supply chain due diligence requirements in Switzerland and the EU, as well as their practical implications, and we suggest action items for Swiss businesses with respect to supply chain governance and compliance programs. In doing so, we refer to further materials prepared by our environmental, social and governance (ESG) team across our EU offices.
Navigating regulatory compliance in the fast-paced crypto markets is challenging. The MiCAR Compliance Toolkit provides you with the practical steps needed to help you prepare for the new regulatory regime for cryptoassets in the EU.
This guide presents an overview of the legal system and business regulations for companies operating in or considering investment into Kazakhstan.
The European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”) has ruled on a case brought against Switzerland by the Swiss association KlimaSeniorinnen on behalf of its members and four individual women of the association. The ECtHR found that Switzerland has violated Art. 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to take timely and sufficient action to adopt and implement relevant legislation and measures to mitigate climate change. The ECtHR also held that, from a procedural perspective, Switzerland failed to grant effective access to court to challenge the insufficient implementation of mitigation measures. In this contribution, we summarize the background of the case and the ECtHR’s decision and analyze its possible impacts.
In our final week of the Annual Compliance conference, we focussed on key issues being faced by companies on ESG, supply chain and product compliance. Specifically, we discussed the new legal landscape in the EU and UK on product compliance and liability, supply chain due diligence trends and developments, and how to manage environmental, social and governance risks and increasing legislation in the US, UK and EU aimed at cracking down on vague, misleading, or unsubstantiated green claims.
The employment supervisory authority has published its annual report summarizing its findings from inspections carried out over 2023. The main objective of the inspections was to assess the extent to which employers comply with the basic rules on employment. We highlight the most important takeaways of the authority’s report and our expectations for the future.
On 19 May 2024, the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses to Improve Liability for Violation of Military Registration Rules and Legislation on Defense, Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization” No. 3696-IX dated 9 May 2024 came into force. The Law increases liability for violations of the military registration rules and legislation on defense, mobilization preparation, and mobilization. In particular, it significantly increases the amount of administrative fines. The Law also extends the timeframe for imposing administrative fines and changes the procedure for their imposition.
On 15 May 2024, Law of Ukraine No. 3677-IX “On Amendments to the Labor Code of Ukraine on Labor Relations in the Course of Transfer of a Business Entity” dated 25 April 2024 came into force, regulating succession in labor relations in the event of a change of company ownership, among others.
Having not secured a deferred prosecution agreement in respect of U.K. Bribery Act offences since 2021 and having been rocked by a series of shortcomings regarding its investigation and prosecution of cases, the SFO has arguably been at its lowest ebb.
On 23 May 2024, the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act, published as Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, entered into force following its adoption by the Council of the EU and European Parliament on 11 April 2024 and its publication in the EU’s Official Journal earlier this month.