Category Archives: Brexit

Further Clarity on Liability of Local Representatives Under the UK GDPR Expected

by Kelly Hagedorn and Matthew Worby

Companies not established in the UK who process the personal data of UK-based individuals are required to appoint a representative in the UK pursuant to Article 27 of the UK GDPR. This requirement may become less practical (and more expensive), depending on the outcome of a UK Court of Appeal case between Baldo Sansó Rondón and LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The case will reportedly be heard in early 2022.

This case relates to the appointment of representatives under the EU GDPR, but will have significant impact in the UK because the UK GDPR framework contains an identical requirement to appoint a UK-based representative. As noted below, it will be interesting to see how EU jurisdictions subsequently interpret the liability of Article 27 Representatives required under the EU GDPR, in light of the UK paving the way on this issue.

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UK Introduces Magnitsky-Style Human Rights Sanctions Regime

by Karolos Seeger, Jane Shvets, Catherine Amirfar, Andrew M. Levine, Natalie L. Reid, David W. Rivkin, Alan Kartashkin, Konstantin Bureiko, and Martha Hirst

On 6 July 2020, the UK implemented a new sanctions regime targeting global human rights abuses, which allows the UK government to impose asset freezes and travel bans on persons it determines to have committed serious human rights violations. These restrictions have initially targeted 49 persons from Myanmar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and North Korea.

This is the first time since Brexit that the UK has diverged from EU sanctions policy. Although many of the targets and restrictions are broadly aligned with the “Magnitsky”-style sanctions previously implemented by the United States and Canada, the UK regime has some important differences. Companies operating in the UK will need to ensure that their sanctions systems and controls reflect this new regime.

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The EPPO and International Co-Operation –– New Kid on the Block

by Karolos Seeger, Jane Shvets, Robin Lööf, Alma M. Mozetič, Martha Hirst, Antoine Kirry, Alexandre Bisch, Ariane Fleuriot, Dr. Thomas Schürrle, Dr. Friedrich Popp, Dr. Oliver Krauß

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (“EPPO”) is a new European Union body responsible for investigating and prosecuting criminal offences affecting the EU’s financial interests in 22 of its 28 Member States.[1] The EPPO is expected to begin investigations in November 2020.

Fraud against the financial interests of the EU is an international phenomenon: in 2018, the European Anti-Fraud Office (“OLAF”) concluded 84 investigations into the use of EU funds, 37 of which concerned countries outside the EU.[2] In this part of our series of analyses of the EPPO[3] we, therefore, consider the framework for the EPPO’s future international co-operation. This includes dealings with enforcement authorities in non-participating EU Member States as well as the rest of the world.

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