UK – Duane Morris Energy and Environmental Blog

February 9, 2023February 10, 2023 by Duane Morris

Survey Indicates Future of International Energy Arbitration

Queen Mary University of London has undertaken a major International Arbitration Survey, focusing on the energy sector entitled “Future of International Energy Arbitration, Survey Report 2022”. This was led by Professor Loukas Mistelis FCArb^[1] and his team. The Survey was based on feedback from over 900 respondents from a diverse range of jurisdictions, end users, leading practitioners, arbitrators and experts, as well as arbitral and academic institutions.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Vijay Bange, please visit the Duane Morris International Arbitration Blog.

March 31, 2022 by Duane Morris

The Invisible Enemy is Cybercrime (UK Construction)

Cyber fraud is a real and present danger across almost all industry sectors, and the construction sector is not immune as our recent article demonstrated. According to the FCA there has been a jump of 52% in incident reports and recent global conflict may possibly increase this threat.

One of the primary types of fraud affecting the construction industry is the prevalence of payment diversion fraud. It is estimated that contractors pay out around £100m per year in fake invoices. In some cases, a single instance of payment diversion fraud can amount to millions of pounds. In such cases it is easy to see how the fraud would place intolerable pressure on the cash flow of a business and in extreme instances even lead to insolvency. In an industry already under pressure through factors such as super-inflation and rising energy costs, fraud is yet another unwelcome factor which can be detrimental to cash flow on a project.

To read the full text of this post by Matthew Friedlander, Chris Recker and Sam Laycock, please visit the Duane Morris London Blog.

January 27, 2022 by Duane Morris

UK: Construction and Engineering Sector Face Limitations on Use of Red Diesel

Glasgow and COP26 resulted in various commitments from global economies to work towards targets in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The UK is to target the reduction of greenhouse emissions to net zero by 2050.

However, even prior to COP26 there were already legislative changes afoot to have cleaner air. The Finance Bill 2021, and the associated secondary legislation, as part of the government’s plans to reduce carbon emissions, has the effect of restricting the usage of red diesel after April 2022.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Vijay Bange, please visit the Duane Morris London Blog.

January 18, 2022 by Duane Morris

Achmea Decision Fallout in the UK

In the Achmea case the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) held that Article 8 of the Netherlands – Slovakia bilateral investment treaty, which allowed for the resolution of disputes by way of arbitration, was incompatible with EU law. The rationale for the decision was that a tribunal may have to interpret or apply EU law and where a question of law arose, unlike a Member State court, that question of law could not be referred to the ECJ. In other words, intra-EU bilateral investment treaty arbitration provisions, as reasoned by the ECJ, deprived the EU courts of jurisdiction in respect of the interpretation of EU law.

We raised the prospect that the ramifications from the decision were potentially far reaching and were not, it seemed, confined to the BIT between Netherlands and Slovakia.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris attorneys Vijay Bange and Matthew Friedlander, please visit the Duane Morris London Blog.

December 20, 2021 by Duane Morris

Beware, Intra-EU Bilateral Investment Treaties May No Longer Offer Investment Protection

The impact and uncertainty caused by the Achmea case on investor state dispute settlement provisions contained in intra-EU Bilateral Investment Treaties continues. These issues are potentially far reaching and may extend further than originally envisaged, namely that this case was arguably specific to the BIT between Netherlands and Slovakia.

To read the full text of this blog post by Duane Morris attorneys Vijay Bange and Matthew Friedlander, please visit the Duane Morris London Blog.

November 17, 2021November 22, 2021 by Duane Morris

Funding the UK’s Nuclear Revolution

Current forecasts in the UK are that electricity demand will double in the next 30 years. Front and centre of the government’s planned solution for energy generation between now and 2050 is nuclear power. The Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill 2021-2022 proposes for the government to negotiate an arrangement with a specially regulated nuclear company, which would receive regular payments from electricity supply companies to help fund the construction of a new nuclear facility.

To read the full text of this Alert by Duane Morris partner Steve Nichol, please visit the Firm website.

September 15, 2021November 19, 2021 by Duane Morris

Energy and the Green Agenda: The New Industrial Revolution?

Globally, notable incidents of freak weather events giving rise to destruction and death have dominated the news. The increasing frequency of these erratic climate events has undoubtedly raised awareness of global warming and, on a political level, the need for states to move quicker towards green energy and the reduction of carbon emissions. Global warming is an inescapable issue that affects us all and which has forced governments to elevate this to the top of the agenda, filtering down to economic policies that will touch upon most industry sectors.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris attorneys Vijay Bange and Tanya Chadha, please visit the Duane Morris London Blog.