Archive

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WASTEWATER

The European Commission has decided to take France and Belgium to the court for flouting the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. France, alleges the Commission, has failed to identify enough sensitive areas bodies of water that are eutrophic, or are otherwise seriously polluted by wastewater.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has published an online directory of dangerous substances in construction products. The database includes country guides for each Member State, outlining the relevant national regulations controlling what kind of substances are banned or permitted and in what circumstances.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has been active recently, using its unique powers within international law to bring EU Member States to heel for failing to implement European legislation promoting health and safety.

Unlike any other international court, the ECJ has the power to fine sovereign states, which ignore its rulings.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE WORLD Bank has called on eastern European and central Asian governments to improve their woeful record of judicial reform, in a region where independent justice is still struggling to emerge from the region’s communist legacy.

Speaking at a regional conference in St Petersburg, Russia, Johannes Linn, bank vice president said: “It is quite clear…that the countries of the region need to focus much more effort, not only on ensuring the development of clear and comprehensive legislation, but also on strengthening the capacity, independence, and accountability of the judicial system necessary to interpret and enforce the law.”…

BY ALAN OSBORN
FRANCE, Ireland and Spain are to be taken to the European Court of Justice for their failure to recognise professional legal qualifications granted in other EU countries. The European Commission said the countries had not implemented Directive 98/5/EC, which entitles lawyers to practise permanently and without restriction, under their original professional title, in another Member State on the same basis as the host country’s own lawyers.…

BY ALAN OSBORN AND KEITH NUTHALL
A COMPREHENSIVE review of contract law in the 15 Member States of the European Union has been launched by the European Commission, which is concerned that the existing contrasts between national legal systems could be obstruct the functioning of the European Union’s single internal market.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
ALBERTA- based Talisman Energy Inc., of Canada, has acquired Lundin Oil AB, of Sweden for CAN$529 million. The deal will bring Talisman exploitable land in Malysia and Lundin’s interests in the North Sea, Malaysia, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED Nations’ increasingly misnamed oil-for-food scheme has been extended until November 30, with the Iraqi government and the UN Security Council agreeing to break the deadlock that led to the agreement being suspended since June.

Diplomats agreed that any changes to the programme should be put off in the meantime, although the American and British governments have released statements saying that they intended to continue discussions focused on reforming the system.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
THE GRAND pipeline project, carrying natural gas from Alaska to mainland USA, will cost between US$15 billion and US$20 billion according to the Alaskan gas producers consortium, which includes ExxonMobil, BP and Phillips.

Spokesman Curtis Thayer told Canada’s National Post the figure includes the cost of a high volume pipeline from Edmonton to Chicago.…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKE
SHELL Lanka Ltd has contested statements in Sri Lanka’s state-run Public Enterprise Reforms Commission’s official website, that the company had recorded a profit of SL Rupees 379 million, (US$4.2 million), Rs.303 million and Rs.34 million in 1998, 1999 and 2000 respectively.…