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• Serge Durox, former head of the legal department of BNP Capital Markets, is joining New York-based Coudert Brothers as a partner. Now based in London, Durox says he will work closely with the Paris, London, Moscow and New York offices, with particular involvement in the practices the London and Paris offices are building jointly. Jacques Buhart, managing partner of Coudert Frères, the firm's Paris office, says Durox "will be involved in developing the firm's derivatives practice in France".

A recent case underlines the reluctance of UK courts to impose personal duties on directors of companies where there is economic loss but not personal injury. By David Kavanagh of Watson, Farley & Williams, London

The Hungarian parliament will shortly consider major company law reforms, setting more stringent financial criteria and modernizing other corporate requirements. By Zoltán Grmela of Gárdos, Benke, Mosonyi, Tomori, Budapest

Private sector finance is increasing in France. But undertaking projects with local government will require foreign companies to bridge a cultural gap. By Jacques Bertran de Balanda and Gilles Heude of Clifford Chance, Paris

By the end of fiscal 2000, a momentous series of reforms should have opened the Japanese financial markets. The government’s programme is reviewed by Naoaki Eguchi, Yasushi Murofushi and Jeremy Pitts of Tokyo Aoyama Law Office-Baker & McKenzie, Tokyo

On July 1 1997, the EU made a fresh offer to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the course of the current talks aimed at liberalizing financial services worldwide. The new offer increases the scope of the previous offer, which included, among other things, free access (on a most-favoured-nation basis) for foreign institutions to the EU's internal market in financial services, and the right to establish branches.

A recent case in New South Wales seems to have resolved the doubts surrounding the creation of fixed charges over receivables raised by Royal Trust Bank. By John Stumbles and Scott Farrell of Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Sydney

The first UK Budget from 'New Labour' on July 2 kept the possibility of a general statutory anti-avoidance provision — perhaps on the Australian model — very much alive, but did not actually contain proposals for one. So for the time being that leaves UK advisers to work out the significance, if any, of some very broad statements in the House of Lords, as the ultimate level of tax appeal, in its decision on June 12 1997 in McGuckian. This was a victory for the UK Revenue, but how important a victory remains to be seen.

A Presidential Decree has clarified the rules concerning foreign ownership of shares of RAO Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas producer (accounting for approximately one quarter of world production). Before the Decree, Gazprom's corporate charter had established a rule that no more than 9% of its shares could be owned by "foreigners or their affiliated persons or legal entities". However, there was no clear mechanism for enforcing the limit, and the definition of 'affiliated' remained murky. Gazprom also maintained the right to approve any sale of shares to foreigners, as well as a general right of first refusal to repurchase any shares sold by Russian shareholders (except that certain shares sold to Russian shareholders by auction were exempted from the latter rule).

As of May 8 1997, data protection rules have been in force under the provisions of Law No. 675 of December 31 1996 which enacted EU Directive No. 9 of March 11 1996. Varying levels of protection for personal data are contemplated and the Authority responsible recently criticized Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) because the forms used by BNL to obtain customers' consent breached the provisions of Law 675. The Authority considered BNL's forms too vague and general and in its opinion the bank's customers would be unlikely to be clear about how and for what purposes their personal data was being collated. The Authority invited BNL to modify the forms sent to customers particularly in view of the fact that refusal by customers to give BNL their consent would have meant the automatic termination of their contractual relationship with BNL and the immediate suspension by the bank of all transactions.