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From January 1 1996, the system of standard tariffs for motor vehicle liability insurance has been replaced by the latest revision of the Federal Law on the Supervision of Private Insurance Companies (Insurance Supervisory Law, ISL). This revision abolished a 20 year-old mandatory system of a single standard tariff for all motor vehicle liability insurers in Switzerland. Now, motor vehicle liability insurers are free to fix a tariff, thereby becoming a non-restricted insurance business.

The Legislative Decree adopted on May 15 1996 by the Council of Ministers (the Decree) to implement EU Directives 93/22/EC (on Investment Services) and 93/6/EC (on Capital Adequacy) will, among other things, introduce substantial reform aimed at privatizing Italian regulated markets (the stock exchange, over-the-counter, futures and options markets). The Decree is now being submitted to the relevant parliamentary committee for its opinion, which, however, is not binding.

The High Court recently held in Possfund Custodian Trustee v Diamond that it is arguable that those responsible for the issue of a company's prospectus owe a duty of care not only to initial subscribers but also to subsequent purchasers of thatcompany's shares in the market. Shares in Diamond Group Holdings (Diamond) were placed on the Unlisted Securities Market in April 1989. Most of the plaintiffs were subscribers but some had also made subsequent purchases of Diamond's shares on the USM. These later purchases took place in the 'after market', the period (in this case two-and-a-half months) after the placing during which the most recent published financial information on Diamond remained that found in the prospectus.

Irish company law requires Irish companies to maintain registers of shareholders and debenture holders. Transfers must be in a statutory form and stamp duty is payable. Technological development in general and the introduction of CREST in particular have resulted in the Companies Act 1990 (Uncertificated Securities) Regulations 1996 ('the Regulations').

UK firm Freshfields will open its seventh European office before the end of the year. The firm will open in Milan, extending its presence in southern Europe following the opening of offices in Madrid and Barcelona.

The Spanish government has recently approved a package of measures introducing important changes in the financial field.

The Trust (Amendment No. 3) (Jersey) Law, 1996, which was adopted by the States of Jersey on November 21 1995 and sanctioned by Her Majesty in Council on April 24 1996, was registered in the Royal Court and came into force on May 24 1996.

José Fernandez has joined US firm O'Melveny & Myers as partner in charge of the firm's Latin America group. He will be resident in the New York and Los Angeles offices. Fernandez comes from the New York office of Baker & McKenzie, where he gained experience in Latin American mergers, infrastructure projects, and privatization work, including as adviser to the governments of Bolivia, Peru and Uruguay.

White & Case has announced that David Robbins will join the firm as a partner in its New York office. Robbins specializes in international corporate transactions, including project development and financing, and cross-border licensing. Formerly a partner with Reid & Priest in New York, he practised for four years in Japan and has represented Japanese companies for almost 20 years.

German law firm Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund has officially opened its office in Berlin. The firm had been working out of the city since February having absorbed local practice Pfeiffer Brandes Neumann.