Secretary Of State For Trade Research Articles

A Humanitarian Intervention? The Court of Appeal Decision in CAAT v Secretary of State for Trade

On 20 June 2019, a Court of Appeal bench composed of the Master of the Rolls and Lord Justices Irwin and Singh handed down judgment in R (Campaign Against the Arms Trade) v Secretary of State for I...

Boxing Shadows: Secretary of State for Trade and Industry V Deverell and Limits on the Definition of Shadow Directors

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry v Deverell lowered the standard required for someone to be found to be a shadow director of a company. This article examines the wording of the definition in relation to the Deverell and pre-Deverell positions, and considers its importance as part of the effective regulation of corporate governance.

Employers' Legal Liability for Sexual Harassment of Employees by Third Parties

The issue of whether or not an employer should be vicariously liable under statute for sexual harassment perpetrated against his employees by third parties is an important one that has been undecided until recently. Whether the issue has been decided by the legislative rules now covering it remains to be seen. Some commentators, including this writer, would disagree that the matter has been resolved sufficiently and argue the need for further change. ‘Thus an employer is not liable for third party harassment of which they had no knowledge, or for one off incidents of third-party harassment, or for conduct beyond their control.’ 1 This article will briefly outline the chequered history of this area of law and analyse how recent changes in UK law 2 (which were inspired by a EU Directive and a successful challenge to the legal rules in the UK raised by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) in Equal Opportunities Commission v. Secretary of State for Trade and Industry) 3 and implemented by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations have finally tried to resolve the issue. The legal effect of these changes will be considered as will their practical impact on employers in the UK. The deficiencies in the legislative rules which now apply will also be highlighted. Developments in other relevant areas of harassment law will also be considered.

The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property - A Valuable Affair

An Independent Review of UK's Intellectual Property Framework was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the Enterprise Conference in December last year, and launched with a formal call for evidence last month. Chaired by Andrew Gowers, former Editor of the Financial Times and now a consultant and writer for the Sunday Times, the review will report to the Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport later this year.

Court of Appeal (Civil Division): R (Corner House Research) v The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

[2005] EWCA Civ 192 Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers MR, Brooke LJ and Tuckey LJ The Judgment The following judgment was given: lord phillips of worth matravers mr: This is the judgment of the court, prepared by Brooke LJ. The judgment in Corner House is the first detailed exposition by the Court of Appeal of the courts’ jurisdiction to grant a claimant, bringing proceedings in the public interest, protection from the defendant public body’s legal costs. This pre-emptive exercise of the court’s discretion as to costs has been labelled a ‘protective costs order’ (‘PCO’), and the jurisdiction to grant such an order is predicated upon the court’s absolute discretion as to costs. As the Court of Appeal puts it:

The other half in IT

An IT industry dominated by men is only using half the available talent and creativity. This is a particular cause for concern in an industry that, despite current economic conditions, has a growing demand for skilled labour."-Rt. Hon Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Minister for Women, January 2002. "It is a puzzling fact that in the 21st century so few women are working in computing and electronics." This statement comes front a computer scientist working in a software company who also said that "the work is varied, stimulating, flexible and compared to other industries, well paid". So there is a paradoxical situation that needs to be resolved. On the one hand, there is an interesting career on offer whereas, on the other hand, it is a career that few women choose to enter. But there has seldom been a more opportune time for women to be entering employment in these sectors. Government, professional bodies, education bodies and the industry itself have recognised the value from greater gender diversity in the workplace. Developments in computing are influencing how we live our lives in the 21st century, so it is essential that more women are part of this exciting development process. This article discusses the issues involved.

TScheme — voluntary approval for certificate authority services

This paper describes tScheme, the independent, industry-led, co-regulatory scheme for electronic trust services. A broad coalition of organisations representing users, service providers and technology suppliers from industry, trade bodies, consumer interest groups, government and elsewhere actively supports tScheme through their membership contributions and by sending delegates to its expert working groups. tScheme operates as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and owned by its members. Its governance ensures its openness, transparency and independence. It is self-funding from annual membership contributions, service approval fees and licence payments for the permitted use of its materials. tScheme creates definitive documents — known as approval profiles — containing the criteria to which electronic trust services must operate if they are to adhere to known best practice. tScheme publishes these criteria and offers electronic trust service providers the opportunity to have their individual services assessed against the appropriate profiles. Services that meet the criteria and gain approval are able to indicate this by displaying the tScheme Approved Service mark, thereby encouraging user confidence. Service providers using the mark are bound by contractual terms covering continuing performance, redress and sanctions to ensure that good practice is maintained. tScheme provides the co-regulatory environment that avoids the need for the UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to invoke his powers under Part I of the Electronic Communications Act 2000. tScheme also enables the UK government to fulfil certain obligations under the European Directive for a Community Framework on Electronic Signatures. Through tScheme, the UK is demonstrating its leadership in creating an ideal environment for the growth of electronic commerce.

Case C-390/98, H.J. Banks & Co. Ltd v. The Coal Authority, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (“Banks II”). Judgment of the Full Court of 20 September 2001, [2001

Case C-390/98, <i>H.J. Banks &amp; Co. Ltd</i> v. <i>The Coal Authority, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (“Banks II”)</i>. Judgment of the Full Court of 20 September 2001, [2001

The National Minimum Wage: Coverage, Impact and Future*

Since its establishment in 1997, the Low Pay Commission (LPC) – whose main task is to recommend the rate for the national minimum wage (NMW) to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry – has operated in a very open manner. Commissioners and the (small) secretariat have visited all the corners of the UK and hundreds of workplaces. Large volumes of written evidence and much oral evidence inform successive reports (LPC, 1998, 2000, 2001a,b, 2003). The LPC also values and nurtures its links with the academic community, many of whom have undertaken research for the LPC which has greatly contributed to the debate on the merits or otherwise of the NMW. In addition the LPC have periodically held conferences where the latest research on low pay and the NMW is discussed and evaluated. Some of the papers in this volume were originally presented at just such a conference hosted by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics (LSE) on 28 September 2001 and organized (beautifully) by Joanna Swaffield of York University. In what follows the conference papers, those published in this volume, and related research are put into context. Section I deals with the thorny matter of coverage and data. The impact of the NMW on the pay distribution, employment and incomes is set out in section II. Some thoughts on the future of the NMW follow in section III.

Wind farm planning consents: Meeting renewables targets or national security — A conflict?

On 14 December 2001, a preliminary hearing was held in the High Court of justice in the UK. The purpose of the hearing was to decide whether EcoGen Developments Limited (EcoGen) had the right for a full judicial review, following the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry's (SSTI) decision, on 29 March 2001, to block the development of an 80MW onshore wind farm at Humble Hill, Northumberland, UK. Peter Cassidy and Georgie Carr of Masons Energy Group take a closer look at the decision and what it may mean for obtaining planning consent for wind farms in certain parts of the UK.

The Queen v. Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, ex parte Greenpeace Limited

617Relationship of international law and municipal law — European Community legislation — European Community Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (“Habitats Directive”) — Geographical scope of Habitats Directive — Whether Habitats Directive applying to United Kingdom continental shelf and superjacent waters — United Kingdom transposing requirements of Habitats Directive into municipal law — Conservation (Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora) Regulations 1994 (“1994 Regulations”) — Application of 1994 Regulations limited to territorial sea — Whether 1994 Regulations complete and lawful implementation of Habitats Directive — Secretary of State for Trade and Industry failing to consider Habitats Directive in licensing process with respect to area beyond territorial sea — Whether legally erroneous — Whether public interest in compliance with Habitats DirectiveEnvironment — Environmental protection — Habitats Directive aiming to protect lophelia pertusa and cetaceans — Whether oil exploration and production in Atlantic Frontier beyond territorial sea harmful to lophelia pertusa and cetaceans — Whether relevant provisions of Habitats Directive providing Greenpeace with grounds of challengeSea — Continental shelf — Exclusive fishery zone — Environmental protection — Whether EC environmental legislation extending to areas outside territorial waters — The law of England

Business, State, and Community: ‘Responsible Risk Takers’, New Labour, and the Governance of Corporate Business

In December 1998, Peter Mandelson MP, one of the principal architects of the Labour Party’s victory in the May 1997 general election, dramatically resigned as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Nevertheless, despite his relatively brief period in that office, Mr. Mandelson left his imprint on policy through the publication in November 1998 of a major White Paper, ‘Our Competitive Future: Building the Knowledge Driven Economy’. The White Paper sets out the New Labour analysis of the national political economy in a globalized world economy and is very much influenced by Mr. Mandelson’s experience of the entrepreneurial spirit during his fact‐finding visit to the United States of America. This article seeks to chart the relationship between New Labour’s desire to foster the development of the corporate sector within a vibrant entrepreneurial culture and the need to ensure that the integrity of the market is preserved in an arena which is seen as inimicable to strong regulatory intervention by the state. As well as mapping New Labour’s political rhetoric onto contemporary debates in corporate governance, the analysis will involve an examination of the interface between business practice and morality. In particular, the article will focus upon the role of the conception of company directors as ‘responsible risk takers’ and the upon the use of name‐and‐shame sanctions in the development of an entrepreneurial culture in which all corporate enterprises are seen as having a legitimate societal ‘licence to operate’.

Antonelli v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1998) 1 All ER

Mr Samuel Antonelli, the appellant, was a property agent, who accepted that he was conducting an estate agent's business in the UK until 1985. Earlier in his life he had worked in the realty business in Detroit. There in the recorder's court he was convicted in 1973 of the crime of burning real estate other than a dwelling house between 1st and 8th December, 1971, an offence contrary to Ch. 750, s. 73 of the Michigan Criminal Law Act. On 12th June he was ordered to serve between 2.5 and ten years' imprisonment for that offence. He did not serve the sentence but left for Israel and from there came to the UK. He did not return to serve his sentence.

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry v Baker and Others

Discovery and inspection of documents are not only the primary investigative tools of any litigator but are also crucial to ensuring fair play between fighting litigants. Access to documents has traditionally only excluded those documents covered by litigation privilege. However, the recent case of Secretary of State for Trade and Industry v Baker and Others [1998] 1 All ER 673 constitutes a marked departure from the established view of litigation privilege and the categories of document protected by that privilege.

Leave to Act as a Company Director Following Disqualification: Re Barings plc

The decision of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to seek disqualification orders in the High Court against several former senior executives of Barings under the Company Directors' Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA) has brought the bank's collapse firmly into the province of company law. The immediate cause of Barings' collapse in February 1995 was put down to the unauthorised trading activities of a group subsidiary, Baring Futures (Singapore) Pte Ltd, on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange. These activities were attributable to Nick Leeson, the senior floor trader and general manager of Baring Futures. The unauthorised trading produced losses amounting to some £827m which were concealed by Leeson in an unnamed client account. The bank's collapse raised fundamental questions about the system of financial regulation and, in particular, the interaction of banking supervision and the regulation of financial services under the Financial Services Act 1986. For present purposes, it also exposed the failure of the bank's senior management to maintain a proper system of internal controls.

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry v Baker &amp; Others

This case arose from the 1995 collapse of the Barings Banking Group caused by the enormous losses resulting from Nick Lee‐son's unauthorised derivatives trading in Singapore, while general manager of Barings Futures (Singapore) Ltd. The holding company of the Barings Group, Barings plc, and a number of its subsidiaries were placed in administration as soon as the scale of the losses became apparent and in July 1995 the administrators submitted a report to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry as they were bound to do by s.7(3) of the Company Directors’ Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA 1986). Section 6 CDDA 1986 provides that it is the duty of the court to disqualify unfit directors of insolvent companies:

Notes. Worker rights - a Euro-litigation strategy? R v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry ex parte UNISON, GMB and NASUWT

Notes. Worker rights - a Euro-litigation strategy? R v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry ex parte UNISON, GMB and NASUWT

British government bans BMA's private fees guide

The British government has banned the British Medical Association (BMA) from publishing its guidelines to consultants on fees for private practice. In a report from the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) to the secretary of state for trade and industry the commission said that the list of fees creates a “complex monopoly.” The Fair Trading Act defines this as a situation that exists “if a group of two or more persons... restrict or distort competition in connection with the supply of goods or services.” The list helped doctors to charge higher fees than would otherwise be possible. The MMC said that the list was against the public interest and criticised the lack of price competition among consultants and of any pressure on charges exerted by patients or general practitioners. There is no reason, the commission says, why there should not be competition in …

PCIF News

The most important news at this moment is that the PCIF Annual Conference and Dinner will take place on 16–17 September 1992, at the Anugraha Conference Centre, Engelfield Green, Egham, Surrey. The Conference will open with a keynote address by John Budgen, Site Director, IBM Havant. We are very pleased to say that the President of the Board of Trade and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, the Right Honourable Michael Heseltine, MP, will address the Federation members at the Annual Conference dinner.

Fibre reinforced plastic connecting rod : Hughes, J.D.A., Wootton, A.J., Lee, W.A. and Mitchell, A.M. (Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, UK Government, London, UK) US Pat 4 905 540 (6 March 1990)

Fibre reinforced plastic connecting rod : Hughes, J.D.A., Wootton, A.J., Lee, W.A. and Mitchell, A.M. (Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, UK Government, London, UK) US Pat 4 905 540 (6 March 1990)