Latest news with #legalAction
Zawya
10-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Haj Ministry suspends 2 Umrah companies for accommodating pilgrims in unlicensed facility
MAKKAH — The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has suspended two Umrah companies for violations including accommodating pilgrims in unlicensed housing facilities. The ministry considers this as a serious violation that directly impacts the safety of pilgrims. The ministry has taken legal action against the two companies, including suspending them from operation and summoning them for investigation. This comes as part of the ministry's commitment to ensuring that pilgrims receive their full rights. The ministry emphasized its role in ensuring that services are provided to pilgrims according to the highest standards of quality and professionalism, and will not tolerate any negligence or breach of contractual obligations towards pilgrims. The ministry underlined the need for all Umrah companies and establishments to fully adhere to the approved regulations and instructions and to provide services according to the specified schedules. This will contribute to enhancing the quality of services and achieving the satisfaction and comfort of pilgrims and visitors during their stay in the Kingdom. This comes within the framework of the ministry's ongoing efforts to improve the quality of services provided to pilgrims and visitors to the Prophet's Mosque, and to monitor the implementation of contractual programs concluded with Umrah companies and establishments. © Copyright 2022 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
ABC News
09-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Building Commission NSW fails to seek fines for developers that lag on defect orders
Thomas Luxton has been forced to launch his own legal action against the developer of his Sydney apartment building after it ignored the regulator's order to fix serious fire safety issues. The developer behind the Rockdale property was referred to the Building Commission NSW's legal enforcement team in March 2024 for non-compliance. Mr Luxton waited months for the commission to commence proceedings against the developer, Knightsbridge Development Group, to seek a hefty fine and grew frustrated when no further action was taken. He described the regulator's defect order as being "about as useful as a sunroof on a submarine". The ABC can reveal that not a single developer that failed to comply with a defect order issued by the commission, known as a building work rectification order (BWRO), has received a fine. BWROs outline serious potential or actual defects in residential apartment buildings, such as structural cracking and waterproofing failures. At least 60 per cent of the 208 rectification orders issued by the commission under the Residential Apartment Buildings Act — which was introduced in 2020 amid a well-publicised crackdown on shonky building work — have not been fully complied with. Non-compliance is a criminal offence, and the regulator can take a developer or builder to court to seek fines of up to $110,000 for individuals or $330,000 for corporations. However, the first time Building Commission NSW prosecuted a developer or builder was last month, and it has not secured any court-imposed fines. A spokesperson for the commission said 40 per cent of its orders had been "fully complied with or revoked", others were being modified, and several were on hold as they were being disputed in court. In Mr Luxton's case, inspectors found the fire stair pressurisation system was faulty, which "may prevent the safe evacuation of residents" during a fire and cause flames to spread "in an uncontrolled manner". In November, he launched his own proceedings against the developer at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on behalf of owners, seeking costs for the repair work. A spokesperson for Knightsbridge Development Group said it was "working on a solution with body corporate to have the issue resolved", noting the builder had gone into liquidation. Internal sources at Building Commission NSW say there is a lack of appetite for legal action within management and dysfunction and staffing issues in the legal team. The regulator has wide-ranging enforcement powers and a mandate to restore trust in the industry to avoid another Mascot or Opal Towers. A spokesperson for Building Commission NSW said its "primary approach" was to work "constructively with the developer, builder, and owner's corporations to ensure defects are rectified at no cost to homeowners, without the need for legal action", but said it would prosecute if needed. It is "currently assessing all non-compliant BWROs for further potential regulatory action, including prosecution, licence cancellations and suspensions", the spokesperson said. The ABC has seen documents obtained under Freedom of Information that reveal the agency previously had an internal list of 42 developers recommended for potential prosecution over non-compliance with an order. It took the regulator almost a month to respond to the ABC's questions. Earlier this year the ABC also revealed the agency had handed out thousands of tradie licences without running a criminal history check, as it had failed to secure a memorandum of understanding with NSW Police for information sharing. The regulator also took more than 16 months to deliver authorisation badges to staff who were legally required to identify themselves on worksites, which some feared might undermine investigations. The delay stemmed from a long-running branding dispute over whether the new agency should be called the NSW Building Commission or Building Commission NSW.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Birkenstock takes on Indian counterfeit trade in Delhi lawsuit
Birkenstock, the German footwear brand, has initiated legal action in India against multiple manufacturers and sellers for producing and exporting counterfeit versions of its products. The infringement case, filed in May with the Delhi High Court, targets four footwear traders, four manufacturing units, and two individuals primarily operating in Agra and New Delhi. In an earlier ruling the court found that the fake products and packaging are so similar to genuine Birkenstock items that they are "hardly discernible to the naked eye," leading to public deception. Following a court order on 26 May, inspections have been carried out at factories, with counterfeit stock seized and evidence collected, and a follow-up hearing is scheduled for 6 October. This legal action reflects a broader trend of international brands, including Crocs and Christian Louboutin, combating intellectual property theft and the thriving counterfeit market in India.
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Jersey's States to begin legal action over unpaid data fees
The government body which oversees data protection in Jersey is to start legal action against multiple organisations over unpaid fees, it Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner (JOIC) confirmed the unnamed groups had failed to pay an annual data protection fee, which funds the JOIC's work to "make the island a safe place to live and do business".Under Jersey law, companies are required to pay the annual fee, which can be anywhere between £70 to £1,600, depending on the size of the JOIC said groups had been "non-compliant" despite its attempts to make contact with them, and that they would now be sent a letter to begin "a formal debt recovery process".
Telegraph
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
SNP warned to update guidance on single-sex spaces within days
The SNP government faces legal action as early as next week if it fails to comply with the Supreme Court decision banning transgender people from single-sex facilities. Sex Matters, the human rights charity, issued a fresh ultimatum to ministers to update the policy on access to lavatories in government properties. It called on them to 'provide clarity to staff and visitors that separate-sex facilities are provided on the basis of biological sex'. The body said legal action could be launched 'without further warning' if the SNP failed to stop ' unlawful practices ' by Wednesday. The move follows a threat of legal action made by the charity last month unless policies allowing trans people to access women-only spaces were 'suspended with immediate effect'. John Swinney, the First Minister, has said Scotland's public sector should await guidance on implementing the ruling from the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) before acting. Correspondence released by the charity showed that on June 27, the Scottish Government responded that it 'accepts the judgement of the Supreme Court' in April and is taking action to implement the ruling. It includes establishing a Short Life Working Group to help 'towards a state of readiness to take all necessary steps to implement the ruling'. In a response sent on Wednesday, Sex Matters said it suggests that the Scottish Government 'now recognises that it cannot wait for the EHRC to finalise its guidance before taking necessary steps to bring its own policies in line with the law'. It said a 'particularly straightforward and urgent step' is for SNP ministers to recall the policies on single-sex facilities in workplaces controlled by the Scottish Government. Sex Matters pointed out that the Scottish Government estate is made up of 66 owned and leased sites, including offices, stores and buildings in the field. It said these are 'well-provisioned with toilet facilities, with a total of 1,016 available across the core estate' for about 9,000 staff. The charity added that toilets are generally provided as a mixture of unisex 'superloos' and traditional separate-sex cubicles urinals, as part of the commitment to meet the needs of all staff including 'providing the best support possible for all trans members of staff'. Of the total number of toilet facilities, 18 per cent are provided as 'superloos'; a toilet and wash-hand basin in a separate room, lockable from the inside, intended for use by one person at a time. The Scottish Government's Trans and Non Binary Equality and Inclusion Policy states that ' trans staff should choose to use the facilities they feel most comfortable with'. In its letter, Sex Matters argued: 'The problem is not lack of infrastructure, but that the Scottish Government has been, and continues to operate an unlawful policy on toilets in its workplaces. 'That is male staff who identify as trans or non-binary can use the 'women's' facilities and female staff who identify as trans or non-binary can use the 'men's'. This policy is clearly unlawful.' The letter states: 'As far as we can see there is nothing to stop the Scottish Government immediately bringing the policy on toilets into line with the law, by making a statement that all facilities designated as male or female within the Scottish Government estate are to be interpreted as meaning biological sex, and that gender-neutral options are widely available.' It adds: 'This would be in line with the Supreme Court judgement and the action taken by the Scottish Parliament. It is clearly a reasonably practical step in order to address the risk of individuals using opposite-sex toilets and other facilities.' Scottish Conservative equalities spokesperson Tess White MSP said: 'The SNP government must stop dragging its heels. 'The Supreme Court ruling was crystal clear, and so was the Equalities and Human Rights Commission's guidance in the wake of it, so there is no excuse for the SNP failing to comply fully with the law now. John Swinney's dithering is creating confusion where there should be none.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The Scottish Government has made clear it accepts the Supreme Court ruling and since April has been taking forward the detailed work that is necessary as a consequence of the ruling. That work is ongoing.'
