Insights

Insights

"We believe that personal development is a journey, not a destination, driven by each individual's own initiative. We are curious to learn, take time and initiative to do so and share out knowledge with others" - lecocqassociate Spirit

We therefore take pride in supporting our people in every way we can to achieve this goal, together. We invest from day one in our team members’ continuing professional development and encourage all associates to publish insights in journals that relate to their areas of expertise.

Florencia Lorca Weyer

Florencia Lorca Weyer

April 26, 2020

The Challenges Of Automated Individual Decision-Making And Profiling's Regulation

Data protection is an area of law that is evolving rapidly. In the European Union (“EU”), the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) was implemented on 25 May 2018. Switzerland is currently in the process of revising its Federal Act on Data Protection (“FADP”)...

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Sofiana Bird Loustaunau

Sofiana Bird Loustaunau

April 20, 2020

Force Majeure In The Uae: Legal And Practical Measures

After the World Health Organization ("WHO") declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic, measures have been put in place across the globe for individuals and organisations in order to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus...

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Sarah Cachia

Sarah Cachia

April 16, 2020

Force Majeure Under Maltese Law: The Legal Consequences Of Covid-19

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (the “WHO”) declared the coronavirus disease or Covid-19 a pandemic, further urging countries to take drastic measures to contain the spread of the virus...

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Alexandre Merlo

Alexandre Merlo

April 15, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) And Force Majeure Under Swiss Law

As the Coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic continues to spread in Europe, the Federal Council has decided to classify the situation as an extraordinary situation according to the Federal Act of 28 September 2012 on the control of transmissible diseases in Humans (Epidemics Act, LEp), which implies that employers are required to take additional protective measures and develop a pandemic plan...

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March 20, 2020

Federal Act On Electronic Identification Services

The current widespread use of the Internet and extensive availability of high-performance mobile devices have resulted in an increasingly easier dematerialisation of transactions. This socio-economic change is promoted by modern Internet users...

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March 8, 2020

Dubai: Registering A DIFC Will

Having a will in place is an extremely important step of your financial planning process. It provides certainty over your assets and is an essential part of your estate planning. Owning assets in the UAE further extenuates the importance of having a will in place, especially for expats...

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February 20, 2020

Intellectual Property – The Skykick Case

The European Union (the “EU”), among other purposes, aims to create a common market for intellectual property (“IP”). However, when problems arise, the European Court of Justice (the “ECJ”) is the court entitled to clarify the conformity of national law to EU laws and principles. Its rulings are binding on all the Member States of the EU...

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Dominique Lecocq

Dominique Lecocq

Lucile Hostettler

Lucile Hostettler

January 29, 2020

The Structured Products Law Review - Switzerland

OVERVIEW The turnover of structured products issued or distributed by major financial institutions negotiated on the national and international markets amounts to 82 billion Swiss francs, and there are currently around 12,000 structured products in Switzerland tradable at SIX Swiss Exchange...

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Sofiana Bird Loustaunau

Sofiana Bird Loustaunau

December 31, 2019

Marketing Foreign Collective Investment Funds in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain

Collective Investment Funds ("CIF") are groups of pooled accounts held by a bank and Collective Investment Trusts (another way of calling CIFs) are groups of pooled accounts held by a trust. Asset managers or other forms of financial institutions pool together and group a variety of assets from individuals and companies to create a unified portfolio. Unlike mutual funds or exchange-traded funds, CIFs are unregulated, unregistered investment vehicles and closer in kind to hedge funds.

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Sofiana Bird Loustaunau

Sofiana Bird Loustaunau

December 30, 2019

Marketing Foreign Special Purpose Vehicles In The UAE, KSA & Bahrain

A Special Purpose Vehicle (“SPV”) is a separate legal entity or a subsidiary created by a company for strategic reasons which include joint ventures, asset securitization, tax optimisation or to isolate financial and operational risks – wherein the case the parent company goes bust, the SPV can keep operating. We will compare five jurisdictions based in the Middle East for setting up SPVs.

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December 4, 2019

Fintech Regulation In Switzerland

FinTech is moving rapidly and is attracting growing regulatory responses. The list of regulatory responses to FinTech-related risks continues to lengthen. This will ratchet up over the coming years as the FinTech sector and the adoption of FinTech solutions continue to develop and grow, and as the associated risks evolve...

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November 7, 2019

Limited Qualified Investor Fund (L-QIF)

In June 2019, the Federal Council opened a consultation on the amendment of the Collective Investment Schemes Act of 23 June 2006 (“CISA”) to introduce a new fund category...

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October 29, 2019

Cookie Storage – CJEU Confirms The Requirement For An Active Consent

The Court of Justice of the European Union (the ‘CJEU’) has recently delivered an important judgement on the storage of cookies and the requirement of active consent from internet users. It sets an important legal precedent in the ePrivacy area...

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September 22, 2019

AI And IP: No Man’s Landscape?

Technology is evolving at an incredible pace. An ordinary smartphone has thousands of time the power of calculation of the computer that allowed the Apollo 11 to land on the moon. We are living the edge of a new era and, among other things, like quantum computer and gene editing...

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August 22, 2019

E-Sports And Gaming In Malta

Malta’s economic sector has been booming with the government exploring innovative ideas to promote the country as a hub for digital innovation. A major sector in Malta is the gaming sector, with numerous companies choosing Malta to operate from due to favourable tax incentives...

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July 28, 2019

MIFID I II And MIFIR – A More Transparent Financial Market

The markets in financial instruments directive (“MiFID”) increases the transparency across the European Union’s financial markets and standardises the regulatory disclosures required for particular markets. MiFID has been applicable within the European Union since November 2007...

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Florencia Lorca Weyer

Florencia Lorca Weyer

July 22, 2019

Data And Consumer Protection In Online Sales

Online sales have expanded drastically over the last decade. In Switzerland, it is estimated that 90% of regular internet users have shopped online at least once. In light of this societal evolution, governments and legislators have needed to adapt and legislate. The European Union has adopted specific legislation, whereas the Swiss legal framework...

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Celaine Vella

Celaine Vella

May 6, 2019

Establishing An Investment Fund In Malta – Comparison Chart

The Investment Services Act , Chapter 370 of the laws of Malta (the “Act”) provides for a legal framework which regulates investment funds and services in Malta. Through the introduction of the Act, fund managers in Malta have been given the opportunity to choose from various corporate structures to cater for their different investment strategies...

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May 2, 2019

Lump Sum Taxation Vs Circular 44 Of The Federal Tax Authority: What Are The Consequences?

On 28 September 2012, the Swiss Parliament adopted the Federal Lump Sum Taxation Act (“Lump Sum Act”), which modifies some provisions of (i) the Federal Income Tax Act (“LIFD”) and (ii) the Federal Act on the Harmonisation of Direct Cantonal and Municipal Taxes (“LHID”)...

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Celaine Vella

Celaine Vella

April 3, 2019

An Electronic Money Institution Comparison – Malta Vs. Luxembourg

An Electronic Money Institution (“EMI”) ‘is a financial institution that has been licensed in accordance with the Financial Institutions Act, Chapter 376 of the Laws of Malta (the “FIA”) and authorised to issue electronic money or that holds an equivalent authorisation in another country in terms of Directive 2009/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on the taking up...

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Celaine Vella

Celaine Vella

March 12, 2019

Brexit: The UK’s Withdrawal From The EU And Its Implications

On 23 June 2016, after 43 years of being in the European Union (the “EU”), the United Kingdom (the “UK”) decided to officially withdraw its membership from the EU. A referendum was held within the UK whereby a vote was taken by every person or nearly every person of a voting age. 51.9% voted in favour of leaving the EU whereas 48.1% voted against leaving the EU...

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Lucile Hostettler

Lucile Hostettler

March 12, 2019

The Mandatory Public Takeover And Exemptions Under Swiss Law

The concept of a mandatory public takeover for a Swiss listed company is necessary in order to ensure that minority shareholders’ interests are duly and adequately protected. In this respect, a balance of interests must be established between the interests of the minority shareholders and the company itself...

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February 6, 2019

The EU Succession Regulation – Cross-Border Successions Made Simpler

Regulation (EU) No. 650/2012 of 4 July 2012 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and acceptance and enforcement of authentic instruments in matters of succession and on the creation of a European Certificate of Succession (the “Regulation”) makes cross-border inheritance simpler by clarifying which EU country’s courts will have jurisdiction to deal with the inheritance...

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Celaine Vella

Celaine Vella

January 14, 2019

The Three Crypto-Currency Laws In Malta – Any Developments?

On the 1 November 2018, Malta has enacted the three laws establishing the regulatory framework governing Distributed Ledger Technology (the “DLT”), Blockchain Technology (the “Blockchain”) and Cryptocurrencies, making Malta the first country in the world to regulate this sector and providing legal certainty of operations within the Blockchain space...

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January 8, 2019

The New Fintech License

From 1 January 2019, companies are able to apply to FINMA (the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority) to obtain a new type of license, known as the “FinTech license” or the “light banking license”. Companies that accept public deposits of up to CHF 100 million in relation to their activities...

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December 17, 2018

Setting Up A Holding Company in Malta

Download the PDF to inform you how to Set up A Holding Company And A Special Purpose Vehicle

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December 17, 2018

Setting Up a Special Purpose Vehicle (“SPV”) in Abu Dhabi Global Market

The Special Purpose Vehicles in the Abu Dhabi Global Market ("ADGM") are regulated by the ADGM Registration Authority (the “RA”), the ADGM Companies Regulations 2015 and The ADGM Commercial Licensing Regulations 2015. They are structured as Private Company Limited by Shares.

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December 16, 2018

Citizenship By Investment Scheme Under The Individual Investor Programme (‘IIP’) In Malta

In November 2013, the Government of Malta introduced the IIP which allows a foreign individual to obtain Maltese citizenship through a certificate of naturalisation following a contribution to the economic development of Malta. Through this programme affluent persons of impeccable standing and repute can obtain Maltese citizenship and receive a Maltese passport...

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November 29, 2018

Genesis Of A Swiss Law

Switzerland is a federal state: state powers (i.e. executive, legislative and judiciary) are shared between the federal government, the cantons and the communes. Federalism makes it possible for Switzerland to exist as one entity – in spite of four linguistic cultures and varying regional characteristics...

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Celaine Vella

Celaine Vella

October 31, 2018

Residency And Citizenship By Investment In Malta – Are They Considered As Reputable High Programmes?

“Malta has come a long way since the launch of its citizenship and residency programmes…we did not go chasing after numbers. We give priority to quality. So we have put in place all the necessary safeguards in order to make sure that we only attract the best talent to our shores”, explained the Maltese Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms...

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Lucile Hostettler

Lucile Hostettler

October 24, 2018

Regulating Cryptocurrencies: Analysis of the Laws in Switzerland, The European Union And Malta

With the growing popularity of decentralised ledger technology (“DLT”) and cryptocurrencies, concerns have been raised over the regulation of the industry due to possible nefarious activities stemming from cryptocurrencies, such as money-laundering, terrorism financing and tax evasion.

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September 27, 2018

The Legal Entity Identifier

The Legal Entity Identifier (“LEI”) emerged in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008. Regulators cited the failure of risk management and controls as having played a leading role in the disaster. Of particular concern was the inability of virtually every institution to identify exposure to Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and AIG. In response, governments have focused attention...

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August 23, 2018

The Malta Global Residence Programme

The Malta Global Residence Programme (the “MGRP”) is a programme regulated by subsidiary legislation 123.148 (the “Subsidiary Legislation”) designed to attract individuals who are not nationals of the EU, EEA or Switzerland and who are not long-term residents...

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August 1, 2018

Investor And Client Protection: Upcoming Swiss Laws On Financial Services And Financial Institutions Background

After the Financial Market Supervision Act (“FINMASA”) was enacted in 2009 and the Financial Market Infrastructure Act (“FMIA”) in 2016, Switzerland, with the goal of putting in place the Financial Services Act (“FinSA”) and the Financial Institutions Act (“FinIA”), will have, in 2020, a set of financial services laws which are up-to-date and consistent with standard practice in the sector...

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Celaine Vella

Celaine Vella

July 19, 2018

EU's General Data Protection Regulation: Data Retention, Erasure and Record Keeping

The General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) has been approved by the European Parliament on 14 April 2016 and entered into force on 25 May 2018. The GDPR replaced Directive 95/46 EC on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data.

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June 29, 2018

Payment Services Directive: Changes To The Industry Within The European Union

With the development of technological aspects not covered by the original Payment Services Directive (“PSD I”), the Second Payment Services Directive – Directive (EU) 2015/2366 (“PSD II”) was introduced in order to enforce greater consumer protection. Technological changes that prompted the enactment of PSD II include changes in e-commerce, increase in use of internet and mobile payments and the growth in the use of multiple payment service providers...

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