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ECJ ruling on floor clauses
Spain – Litigation
The conclusions presented on 13 July by the Advocate-General of the European Court of Justice regarding the compatibility of the limitation of the retroactivity of the annulment of floor clauses with EU law seem not to have entirely cleared up the matter . And not merely because , as is well known , such conclusions are not binding on the Supreme Court , which ultimately will have the last word , but especially because the conclusions cast a certain shadow over what transpires in individual cases . The Spanish Supreme Court , in its well-known decision of 9 May 2013 , restricted the effects of the declaration of annulment of floor clauses from the date of the court ’ s decision , a criterion that has been upheld by the decisions of the same court of 25 March and 29 April 2015 .
This time limitation on the refund of the amounts unduly credited in applying floor clauses led to the referral of the preliminary rulings by different legal institutions to the European Court .
Gracia Llácer is a senior associate at Roca Junyent . She can be contacted at m . gracia @ rocajunyent . com
Advantages of competition law compliance
Angola - Competition
As the year of 2016 is coming to an end , there is an interesting melting pot of draft legal frameworks and circumstances in Portugal that call for renewed focus on the advantages of competition law compliance .
The more relevant ingredients are : the much discussed and soon to be approved amendment to the Code of Public Contracts , with the influence of the pro-competition approach ; the implementation of the Directive on Antitrust Damages Actions , aimed at removing obstacles to compensation for all victims of infringements of EU and national antitrust law ; the Portuguese Competition Authority ’ s ( PCA ) effort to be in line with the increasing international trend of active advocacy of competition by public enforcers ; and the designation of a new President to the PCA ’ s Board .
Margarida Rosado da Fonseca is of counsel at ABBC . She can be contacted at m . fonseca @ abbc . pt
Software taxation in the Chilean – Spanish Tax Agreement
Spain – Tax
In recent years , the Chilean economy has become one of the most attractive economies in Latin America for foreign investment . As a result , many Spanish companies consider Chile as a land of opportunity and a strategic place to land in the South American market , in the way Colombia and Peru have been recently . From a tax perspective , since 2004 the economic traffic between Chile and Spain is covered by an international Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement ( Tax Agreement ). The existence of such a tax convention , Chilean economic development and the cultural proximity of both countries , make Spain one of the main countries through which European investments in Chile are channelled . In this sense , the content of such a Tax Agreement is especially important in the age of the digital economy , especially regarding software commercialisation and distribution .
Eduardo Huidobro is a partner at DS Vermehren Puga Varela . He can be contacted at ehuidobro @ dsabogados . cl
Autonomous Cars : The Legal Challenges
Portugal - Technology
The Web Summit held in Lisbon in November 2016 brought together a large number of experts in the car industry , including specialists in autonomous car technology , in a clear demonstration of the expected revolution in the automotive industry .
Indeed , a new mobile world is beginning to emerge from the intersection of the technology , electronic communications and automotive sectors . This new world is connected , shared and autonomous , and makes use of digital technologies , Big Data and the Internet of Things to bring new market opportunities , as well as social and environmental benefits . These range from new opportunities for the automotive industry to opportunities for ICT start-ups and companies , as well as for services in areas such as entertainment , e-commerce and spatial data .
Helena Correia Mendonça is a consultant at Vieira de Almeida . She can be contacted at hcm @ vda . pt
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