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On the 6th December 2010 the Central Bank of Ireland issued its revised Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA). This binding Code, issued under Section 117 of the Central Bank Act 1989, replaces the previous CCMA issued by the Central Bank on the 19th February 2010. The new Code will apply to the mortgage lending activities of all regulated entities (except credit unions) operating in the State from the 1st January 2011. An important point of note is that the Code applies to the mortgage loan of a borrower which is secured by their primary residence only.
The revised CCMA will apply not only to borrowers currently in arrears but also to borrowers who notify their lender that that they are in danger of going in to financial difficulties and are concerned about going in to mortgage arrears i.e. pre-arrears cases.
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On the 30th August 2010, the Government approved the publication of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010 (the “2010 Bill”) which, amongst other amendments, provides for a number of proposed changes to Irish bankruptcy law.
These changes have been proposed largely in response to the Law Reform Commission of Ireland’s Interim Report on Personal Debt Management and Debt Enforcement which was published in May 2010. Although the proposed amendments represent a significant change to personal insolvency law in Ireland in circumstances where this particular area of law has been largely untouched in the last 20 years, we will see that far more significant changes may be on the horizon once the Law Reform Commission’s Final Report on Personal Debt Management and Debt Enforcement is published. It is anticipated that this Report will be completed before year end 2010.
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Section 90 of the Charities Act 2009 is now in force.
The court has powers in any proceedings to grant relief to charity trustees from personal liability for breach of trust, where it appears to the court that the trustee acted honestly and reasonably. The court may relieve him or her in whole or in part from his or her liability on such terms as the court deeds appropriate.
Prior to this provision, there were concerns that persons were dissuaded from accepting the role of charity trustee for fear of being held personally liable for losses accruing to the charity as a result of their actions.
This new safeguard gives legal certainty to an area of law that was previously ambiguous.
Section 90 should reassure those who are currently acting as charity trustees and encourage more people in the future to take on this role.
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Monday, December 20, 2010 - 11:18
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Statutory Instrument No 516 of 2010, which was signed by the Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Mr. Dermot Ahern TD, extends compulsory registration of title to the counties and cities of Dublin and Cork.
The operative date of the Ministerial Order is 1st June 2011. This means that from this date, Compulsory First Registration will be applicable across the entire country.
Ireland is therefore edging ever closer towards a complete Land Registry, which is to be welcomed as the delays and costs involved in this system are considerably less than the Registry of Deeds system, notwithstanding the additional advantage of being State-guaranteed.
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Monday, December 20, 2010 - 11:17
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UPC – one of Ireland’s largest Internet Service Providers (ISPs) – scored a landmark victory against Record Labels in October 2010 over illegal music downloads and file sharing.
Four music industry powerhouses – EMI Records, Sony BMG, Warner Music and Universal Music – were pushing for a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ rule to stop large-scale piracy by UPC customers.
Mr Justice Peter Charleton of the High Court conceded that the business of recording companies in Ireland was being devastated by internet piracy and that a significant portion of UPC’s 150,000’s customers were illegally downloading music.
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