On 4 August 2022, the Consumer Credit Oversight Board Task Force issued the first of a two-part consultation paper to the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) to obtain feedback from interested parties and members of the public on the proposed enactment of the CCA.
The Task Force has now issued the second public consultation paper. The public consultation period on the second paper will close on 15 May 2023.
The feedback from the consultation paper will be considered ahead of the anticipated CCA being passed into law by the end of 2023.
On 29 March 2023, the Swiss Federal Council, the executive body of Switzerland, announced its decision to implement an extension of the transitional periods for the certification of medical devices under the Swiss Medical Device Ordinance (“MedDO”) and the Ordinance on In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices (“IvDO”), in line with the amendment of transitional provisions in the European Union under Regulation (EU) 2023/607.
The implementation of these amended transitional provisions requires the formal amendment of the MedDO and the IvDO. These amendments are expected to be adopted in autumn 2023.
On 24 March 2023, a notice was published in the Federal Register announcing that the Food and Drug Administration published a framework for the use of digital health technologies (DHTs) in drug and biological product development. DHTs are systems that use computing platforms, connectivity, software, and/or sensors for health care and related uses. FDA previously published draft guidance identifying considerations for the use of DHTs to support clinical investigations and relating to different aspects of DHT use. In the draft guidance, FDA particularly highlighted the importance of verification and validation to ensure the DHTs are for fit-for-purpose for use in the clinical investigation. Further, remote data acquisition through DHTs may raise issues including data privacy and confidentiality concerns.
On 29 March 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang signed Decision No. 319/QD-TTg, which approved the Anti-Counterfeiting and Consumer Protection in e-commerce by 2025 Plan. The Plan is set to increase anti-counterfeiting and consumer protection initiatives, build consumer confidence in online purchasing, and encourage transparent and healthy e-commerce activities in general.
On 28 March 2023, the Minister of Finance introduced Budget 2023, aptly titled a “Made-in-Canada Plan.” A key trade-related theme resonates throughout the Budget: futureproofing the Canadian economy to respond to realignment of global trade patterns. Budget 2023 highlights new policy based initiatives and legislative amendments to address, such as: the global race to net-zero economies and “industries of tomorrow”; “friendshoring” economies to limit dependence on authoritarian regimes for critical goods; domestic supply chain weaknesses; forced labor in Canadian supply chains; and circumvention of economic sanctions.
The Office of the Consumer Protection Board has published the Notification of the Advertising Committee on Guidelines for Using Advertising Statements in Manners That Affirm Facts That Are Difficult to Prove and Guidelines for Proving the Facts Concerning Advertising Statements, B.E. 2565 (2022) in the Government Gazette on 13 January 2023, effective on 14 January 2023.
Recently, through its investigation into the retail pricing practices of a regional Canadian furniture retailer, the Competition Bureau of Canada has expanded the list of potentially problematic pricing claims to now include “urgency cues”, i.e., the use of marketing tactics to increase a consumer’s perception of having to act immediately and/or to elicit a “fear of missing out.”
On 22 February 2023, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore successfully obtained a court order against Triple Lifestyle Marketing Pte. Ltd., a water system retailer, over unfair trading practices.
We’re pleased to present the tenth edition of Ukrainian Laws in Wartime: Guide for International and Domestic Businesses, a brief overview of the key features of wartime legislation.
On 24 March 2023, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier issued a press release requesting certain alternative investment fund managers, management companies of undertakings for collective investments in transferable securities and institutions for occupational retirement provision to participate in the data collection exercise relating to pre-contractual product disclosure information under Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector as amended and Regulation (EU) 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment as amended.