Flux

27/03/2024
Cannabis law and legislation in Belgium
Medical use In principle, the cultivation, import, sale and possession of (medicinal or recreational) cannabis is not allowed under Belgian law. An exception is made for the cultivation of hemp with a...
25/03/2024
Patentability of inventions relating to diagnostic methods at the EPO
Under Article 53(c) of the European Patent Convention (EPC), diagnostic methods practised on the human or animal body are excluded from patentability. The purpose behind this exclusion is to avoid patent...
22/03/2024
EU Competition Law Briefings 2024
The EU Competition Law Briefings have been created to provide a platform for our clients and other competition law experts to stay up to date on the developments of EU Competition Law. Every month CMS competition experts will present a recent case by the EU Commission or Community Courts during a webinar.
21/03/2024
Options et variantes – Règles applicables et conséquences pour le classement...
> GA NAAR DE NEDERLANDSE VER­SIEL’équipe des marchés publics de CMS a le plaisir de vous inviter à son cycle de formations consacrées à divers hot-topics en matière de marchés publics. Celles-ci...
21/03/2024
CMS European M&A Study 2024
The CMS Corporate/M&A Group is pleased to launch the 16th edition of the European M&A Study
21/03/2024
CMS European M&A Study 2024
CMS a publié les résultats de la 16e édition du CMS European M&A Study 2024, présentant une analyse approfondie du paysage des fusions et acquisitions sur base des transactions pour lesquelles CMS...
19/03/2024
Recent publication of Directive 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the...
Following its adoption on 28 February 2024, the new Directive 2024/825[1] has now been published (the Directive). The adoption of the Directive aims at guiding and supporting consumers in engaging with...
18/03/2024
After many postponements, the Council of the European Union reached an...
As part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission proposed the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD” or the “Directive”) on 23 February 2022, with the aim to introduce...
15/03/2024
Next steps
Following the release of the pre-final text of the AI Act and its adoption by the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Civil Liberties Committees in February 2024, the torch was passed to the European Parliament plenary. Voting took place in the European Parliament on 13 March 2024 and approval was given by a large majority. The text is now being revised by the legal linguists of the European Parliament. The final text is then formally approved once again in the European Parliament. This is expected to take place on 10 / 11 April. This final text will then have to be approved by the Council of the European Union. A clear date for this has not yet been defined, but it can be assumed that this will happen soon after the final text has been approved by the European Parliament, most likely end of April/early May 2024. The AI Act will enter into force on the 20th day after publication in the EU Official Journal and will be applicable after 24 months. However, some specific provisions will have different application dates, such as prohibitions on AI, that will apply 6 months after entry into force; or General Purpose AI models already on the market, which are given a compliance deadline of 12 months. The AI Office was established on 21 February 2024 and the European Commission will oversee the issuance of at least 20 delegated acts. The AI Act’s implementation will be supported by an expert group formed to advise and assist the European Commission in avoiding overlaps with other EU regulations. Meanwhile, Member States must appoint at least one notifying authority and one market surveillance authority and communicate to the European Commission the identity of the competent authorities and the single point of contact. The next regulatory step appears to be focused on AI liability. On 14 December 2023, EU policymakers reached a political agreement on the amendment of the Product Liability Directive. This proposal aims to accommodate technological developments, notably covering digital products like software, including AI. The next proposal in line in the AI package is the Directive on the adap­ta­tion/har­mo­ni­za­tion of the rules on non-contractual civil liability to Artificial Intelligence (AI Liability Directive). Addressing issues of causality and fault related to AI systems, this directive proposal ensures that claimants can enforce appropriate remedies when suffering damages in fault-based scenarios. The draft was published on 28 September 2022 and is still pending to be considered by the European Parliament and Council of the European Union . Once adopted, EU Member States will be obliged to transpose its provisions into national law within a likely two-year timeframe. The enactment of the AI Act represents a pivotal step towards fostering a regulatory landscape, not only in the EU but worldwide, that balances innovation, trust, and accountability, ensuring that AI serves as driver of progress while safeguarding fundamental rights and societal values.
15/03/2024
Codes of conduct, confidentiality and penalties, delegation of power and...
Codes of conduct (Currently Title IX, Art. 69)In order to foster ethical and reliable AI systems and to increase AI literacy among those involved in the development, operation and use of AI, the new AI Act mandates the AI Office and Member States to promote the development of codes of conduct for non-high-risk AI systems. These codes of conduct, which should take into account available technical solutions and industry best practices, would promote voluntary compliance with some or all of the mandatory requirements that apply to high-risk AI systems. Such voluntary guidelines should be consistent with the EU values and fundamental rights and address issues such as transparency, accountability, fairness, privacy and data governance, and human oversight. Furthermore, to be effective, such codes of conduct should be based on clear objectives and key performance indicators to measure the achievement of these objectives. Codes of conduct may be developed by individual AI system providers, deployers, or organizations representing them and should be developed in an inclusive manner, involving relevant stakeholders such as business and civil society organisations, academia, etc. The  European Commission will assess the impact and effectiveness of the codes of conduct within two years of the AI Act entering into application, and every three years thereafter. The aim is to encourage the application of requirements for high-risk AI systems to non-high-risk AI systems, and possibly other additional requirements for such AI systems (including in relation to environmental sustainability).
15/03/2024
Real estate finance law in Belgium
A. Mortgages 1. Can security be granted to a foreign lender? Yes. 2. Can lenders take a mortgage over land and buildings on the land? Yes. 2.1 The distinction between mortgages on land and buildings...
15/03/2024
CMS Real Estate Data Centre Consenting in Belgium
1. Do you have to enter into a form of agreement with the local au­tho­rity/mu­ni­ci­pa­lity when applying for consent for a data centre in your jurisdiction? The construction of a data centre requires a permit...
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