A Director's Duty of Loyalty and the Relevance of the Company's Scope of Business: Cheng Wai Tao v Poon Ka Man Jason

The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal has utilised a ‘scope of business’ inquiry to delineate the boundaries of the no‐conflict rule for the company director. Such an inquiry is directed at discerning the realistic ability of the company to exploit any particular business opportunity and a strict capacity approach is eschewed, at least where the no‐conflict rule is concerned. The decision is premised on a bifurcation between the no‐conflict and no‐profit rules, suggesting that the tests to determine breach of these fiduciary rules are not necessarily the same, thus permitting a more nuanced consideration of directorial breaches.     

明发集团有限公司与宝龙集团发展有限公司等合同纠纷案

[裁判摘要]当事人在合同中约定,双方发生与合同有关的争议,既可以向人民法院起诉,也可以向仲裁机构申请仲裁的,当事人关于仲裁的约定无效。但发生纠纷后,一方当事人向仲裁机构申请仲裁,另一方未提出异议并实际参加仲裁的,应视为双方就通过仲裁方式解决争议达成了合意。其后双方就同一合同有关争议又向人民法院起诉的,人民法院不予受理;已经受理的,应裁定驳回起诉。     

从CDS看金融衍生品的异化与监管——以瑞银集团诉Paramax案为例

本文以最具代表性的金融衍生品——信用违约互换（CDS）为例，结合次贷危机后第一例CDS诉讼——“瑞银诉Paramax”，分析了CDS这一金融创新异化的过程以及法律因素在其中扮演的角色。CDS的形式是市场主体之间缔结的合同。正是合同下的履约风险消解了CDS作为信用风险管理工具的基本价值，促成了其从保险机制到投机工具、从合同到不受监管的“证券”的异化。这也表明，以形式至上为特征的法律与监管机制在功能（实质）至上的金融创新面前恐怕难以避免失败的结局。     

Exit, Loyalty, and Collective Action Among Workers in a Simulated Business Environment: Interactive Effects of Group Identification and Boundary Permeability

Past research on the effects of boundary permeability and tokenism (open boundaries with restricted access) suggests that when options for individual mobility exist, members of low status groups tend to exit their group and attempt to enter higher status groups. We hypothesized that the effects of boundary permeability on preferences for individual vs. collective action would depend upon prior levels of in-group identification, such that people who are more identified with their group would remain loyal and choose collective action, even under conditions of high boundary permeability. To test this hypothesis, a 2 (High vs. Low Group Identification) × 2 (High vs. Low Permeability) experimental design was employed to assess preferences for exit and loyalty in the context of a simulated business environment. For both rating measures and behavioral choices, the interaction hypothesis was supported. Implications for group loyalty and strategies of tokenism are discussed.     

Healthy law makes for healthy children: Cattanach v Melchior

When courts are forced to consider issues surrounding birth and the sanctity of life, it is inevitable that divergence of judicial, academic and public opinion will result. However, the issue of whether parents can recover the expenses of rearing a healthy child has long vexed judges and commentators of law, ethics and medicine both in Australia and globally, with considerable disunity. A cogent example is the recent High Court of Australia decision in Cattanach v Melchior (2003) 215 CLR 1, where the court split four to three and handed down no less than six individual judgments. The case involved the birth of a healthy child following an unplanned pregnancy resulting from a failed surgical sterilisation. By allowing parents to recover the reasonable expenses of rearing an unintended child until the age of 18 years, the decision has provided some limited and temporary legal clarity to the issue of wrongful pregnancy in Australia. It is seen by some as a victory for the reproductive freedom of women and the rights of the child. However, with uncertainty remaining on the issue of wrongful life claims in Australia and with legislative changes in Queensland and New South Wales that partly reverse the High Court's decision, there remains doubt about the future of such claims in Australia.     

The Worldwide Search for Techno-thieves: International Competition v. International Co-operation

In an age of explosive worldwide growth of electronic data storage and communications, many vital interests require the effective protection of information. Today's information age requires businesses to compete on a worldwide basis, sharing sensitive information with appropriate parties while protecting that information against competitors, vandals, suppliers, customers, and foreign governments. Elements of the US civilian infrastructure, such as the banking system, the electric power grid, the public switched telecommunications network, and the air traffic control system, are central to so many dimensions of modern life that protecting these elements must have a high priority. Governments have an important stake in assuring that rival nations do not appropriate technology.     

The Quest for a Satisfactory Definition of Terrorism: R v Gul

The UK Supreme Court judgment in R v Gul presented a unique opportunity for a judicial appraisal of the definition of terrorism contained in section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000. While the applicant was ultimately unsuccessful in his challenge, the Supreme Court's rejection of the state's argument that reliance on prosecutorial discretion could mitigate certain absurd applications of the section 1 definition of terrorism, eg the labelling of acts of UK or other military forces as terrorist, has potentially wide‐raging implications for the UK's counter‐terrorism measures. In addition, the powerful obiter dictum arguing in favour of a reform of this definition and a ‘root‐and‐branch’ review of counter‐terrorism legislation is a strong rebuke of recent high profile misapplications of such powers.     

Recovering damages for occupational stress: Walker v. Northumberland County Council

Conclusion Given that occupational stress cases may hinge on the extent to which a plaintiff is willing to exhibit signs of breakdown, it is suggested that few cases are likely to succeed. Coupled with the fact that the variability inherent within the contractual and occupational context means that clear lines of liability are difficult to predict, it is, therefore, unlikely that litigation followingWalker will be able to take up the impetus generated by that case or act as a deterrent to overburdening employers. Importantly, though, it is submitted that the potential for extremeemployee participation in the sort of (particularly white collar) occupational stress scenarios could stretch mechanisms such asvolenti beyond their capacity. In turn, this may show tort to be too blunt an instrument for dealing with a social problem as subtle and multi-layered as occupational stress.     

Kogan v Martin: A New Framework for Joint Authorship in Copyright Law

The Court of Appeal has set out a new framework for the application of copyright law's joint authorship test in a recent landmark case. Kogan v Martin brings some welcome clarity to the complex joint authorship landscape, embedding an inclusive pro-collaboration default standard. This case note contrasts the appeal court's nuanced framing of the dispute with the first instance court's narrower approach. The note then examines the new joint authorship framework and explains how it allows the test to be applied with an eye to the reality of collaborative creative endeavours. Finally, the significance of Kogan v Martin is highlighted, as are some questions which remain unanswered.