4-5 Gray’s Inn Square
6 Experts
1 Contributions by 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square
PRACTICE NOTES
Exemptions from the financial promotion restriction
This Practice Note examines exemptions from the financial promotion restriction that are most pertinent to financial services practice. For broader detail on the restriction in general, see Practice Note: The financial promotion regime—essentials.
The exemptions to the restriction fall into three categories and are contained in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotions) Order 2005, SI 2005/1529 (FPO). They are arranged by type of activity:
provisions covering every controlled activity (FPO SI 2005/1529, Pt IV)
provisions for deposits and insurance (FPO SI 2005/1529, Pt V)
provisions for specified controlled activities, excluding deposit taking (FPO SI 2005/1529, Pt VI)
provisions for controlled claims management activities (FPO SI 2005/1529, Pt VIA, arts 73A–73J)
For guidance on the exemptions applying to all controlled activities, see Practice Note: Exemptions for all controlled activities; for guidance on deposits and insurance, see Practice Note: Exemptions for deposits and
Financial Services
5 Contributions by 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Experts
PRACTICE NOTES
Ireland as a seat of arbitration
In recent years, the Republic of Ireland (Ireland) has pursued a focused drive to position itself as a hub for international arbitration. These initiatives have intensified since the UK’s departure from the EU, with representative bodies such as Arbitration Ireland arguing that Dublin can attract cross-border dispute work at London’s expense. September 2024 saw the second Dublin International Disputes Week, building on the now well‑established Dublin International Arbitration Day. Ireland’s principal selling points in this respect include:
a common law jurisdiction
membership of the European Union
excellent infrastructure and facilities
a pool of highly skilled professional expertise
adoption of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (the Model Law)
The Irish courts have traditionally shown deference to contracting parties’ selection of arbitration as their chosen means of resolving disputes...
Arbitration
PRACTICE NOTES
This Practice Note explores which provisions of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) bring into force the prohibitions on discrimination in schools, the various forms of discrimination—sex, race, religion or belief, age, marriage or civil partnership, and disability—and any relevant exceptions that may apply. It further explains that the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, SI 2017/353, oblige education-function public authorities to publish yearly information showing compliance with the public sector equality duty (PSED) in EqA 2010, s 149...
The public sector equality duty
Under the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, SI 2017/353, specific obligations apply to public authorities with education responsibilities. Those bodies must publish material evidencing adherence to the PSED under EqA 2010, s 149, at annual intervals. This must be done every year. See Practice Notes: Specific public sector equality
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
This Practice Note outlines and introduces the principal forms of alternative dispute resolution used in Ireland—direct negotiation, mediation, adjudication, arbitration and conciliation—setting out their key characteristics and the main governing statutes: the Mediation Act 2017 (Ireland) (MA 2017 (IRL)), the Construction Contracts Act 2013 (Ireland) (CCA 2013 (IRL)) and the Arbitration Act 2010 (Ireland) (AA 2010 (IRL)).
Forms of alternative dispute resolution
ADR offers a voluntary route in place of litigation for resolving civil disputes. In Ireland, the leading methods—arbitration, mediation, direct negotiation and construction adjudication—will be familiar to practitioners across other common law jurisdictions. Conciliation, by contrast, although widely used domestically for both employment and construction disputes, will often be unfamiliar to those practising elsewhere. There is also limited uptake of other tools on the ADR spectrum, such as expert determination. Likewise, escalating dispute clauses directing parties to attempt
Ireland - Dispute Resolution
PRACTICE NOTES
Introduction
Although sovereign immunity does not hinder arbitration, the prevailing position is that states remain immune from the reach of Spanish courts. Still, issues concerning state immunity can surface when a claim is lodged in court against a state to challenge or enforce an award, or to secure an injunction in support of arbitration.
The State Immunity Act 2015: General Provisions
The Spanish State Immunity Act 2015 (SIA) transposes into the Spanish legal order the U.N. Convention on State Immunity 2004, despite the convention not having entered into force. Under the SIA, s 4, any foreign State and its assets enjoy immunity from jurisdiction and enforcement before Spanish courts on the terms and conditions laid down in this statute. However, the SIA, s 16 provides a single exception to jurisdictional immunity where there is an arbitration agreement between the State and an individual of another state
Arbitration
PRACTICE NOTES
Under section 6.3 of the Spanish Civil Procedure Rules 2000 (CPR) and section 11.1 of the Spanish Arbitration Act 2003 (AA), where a claimant issues proceedings in the first instance courts in relation to a dispute that, by reason of a valid arbitration agreement, ought to be determined by an arbitral tribunal, the defendant may contest the court’s competence by lodging a ‘declinatoria de jurisdicción’, or simply ‘declinatoria’. This ‘jurisdictional challenge application’ (also called ‘the declinatoria application’) is a request for an order stating that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case and thereby enforcing the parties’ agreement to arbitrate and to have the arbitral tribunal hear the dispute.
Procedure for disputing the court’s jurisdiction
As the court cannot raise a jurisdictional objection of its own motion (‘de oficio’), the onus lies on the defendant to do so. The defendant has a short period of ten
Arbitration
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