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GLOBAL LAW NEWSLETTER – FALL 2008

WELCOME

The ALFA International - International Law Practice Group would like to welcome you to the Fall 2008 edition of the Global Law Newsletter, a periodic electronic newsletter focusing on a wide array of articles designed with ALFA International clients and colleagues in mind.

Editor: Joe Marconi, Johnson & Bell, Ltd., Chicago, Illinois, marconij@jbltd.com

FEATURED ARTICLES

"GREEN AND YELLOW" DRAWBACK: PIS AND COFINS ALSO SUSPENDED (Brazil)

A new type of drawback is implemented in the Brazilian customs system for suspension of additional taxes. For the full article click here.

PROVISIONAL MEASURE (MP) NO. 418/08 IS CONVERTED INTO LAW AND BRINGS NEW RULES TO EXPORT PROCESSING ZONES (EPZS) (Brazil)

Companies located in EPZs are entitled to allocate to the domestic market 20% of their gross revenue pertaining to the sale of goods and services. For full article click here.

RESTRICTION ON THE ACQUISITION OF LAND BY FOREIGNERS (Brazil)

Foreigners will face restrictions in the acquisition of lands in Brazil… For full article click here.

ARBITRATING COMPETITION LAW CASES (European Union/U.K.)

This is the first part of a two-part article on private enforcement and mediation and arbitrability of competition law. This article looks at arbitration. For full article click here.

STANDARD FORM CONTRACTS IN CIVIL CONSTRUCTION (Brazil)

The repeated use of abbreviations and acronyms in construction contracts poses huge risks… For full article click here.

THE NEW INSTRUMENT FOR ASSET PROTECTION AND SUCCESSION IN THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS: THE BVI SUCCESSION TRUST (U.K./Commonwealth)

Asset protection and succession of individuals is often attained through the establishment of trusts abroad… For full article click here.

FOR THE INDEPENDENCE OF BOARDS OF DIRECTORS (Brazil)

Brazilian Corporate Law is amended in order to allow further independence of Boards of Directors… For full article click here.

GROWING EXPECTATION FOR INTERNATIONALIZATION OF BRAZILIAN COMPANIES (Brazil)

Topics Include: Approved bill establishes obligation to publish companies’ balance sheets and financial statements, new taxation regime REIDI (Special Infrastructure Development Incentive Regime) reduces and/or suspends some taxes levied in related transactions and intervention from third parties in Brazilian arbitration. For full article click here.

ONE STRIKE AND YOU ARE OUT: THE VALIDITY OF NO-CONTEST CLAUSES (U.K./Commonwealth)

We are all familiar with the inclusion of forfeiture or no-contest clauses in wills but it has also become increasingly common to see no-contest clauses in offshore inter vivos trusts, designed to prevent or discourage beneficiaries from litigating over their validity. It was only a matter of time before the validity of such a provision was tested in litigation as it was in AN -v- Barclays Private Bank & Trust (Cayman) Limited and others[1], which was heard by the Chief Justice of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands in June last year. For full article click here.

PLEASE NOTE: ALFA International is presenting a Global Legal Conference in Mumbai, India on November 13, 2008. Please click on this link for the full conference brochure.

ABOUT ALFA INTERNATIONAL

ALFA International, the global legal network, (www.alfainternational.com) is an organization of independent law firms. ALFA International’s membership is comprised of 132 international law firms (85 U.S. based firms, 47 non U.S. based firms) employing over 8,500 lawyers and 10,000 other legal professionals. Member firms are located in nearly every U.S. state as well as in Canada, Mexico, across Europe, Latin America, South America, and the Pacific Rim. ALFA International’s basic objective, accomplished through its member firms and their activities, is to improve the quality and efficiency of legal services and to provide those services to clients within a reasonable and value oriented cost formula across jurisdictions around the world.