{"id":972,"date":"2020-04-20T18:09:46","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T18:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kklaw.co.ke\/?p=972"},"modified":"2020-04-20T18:09:49","modified_gmt":"2020-04-20T18:09:49","slug":"covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kklaw.co.ke\/?p=972","title":{"rendered":"Covid 19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p style=\"font-size:0\"><strong>March 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Covid-19: Legal\nSynopsis <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nrecent outbreak of the novel coronavirus has caused disruption across the world\nand Kenya is no exception. Containment measures, including lockdowns of cities,\nextensions of public holidays, closures of public services (e.g. courts),\ncancellation of events, unprecedented \u201cwork from home\u201d arrangements,\ninternational travel restrictions and quarantine measures are having worldwide\nimpacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In\nlight of the foregoing there is need to undertake a legal synopsis of International\npolicy intervention, specific&nbsp; Government\npolicy(country \u2013country policies),international trade and commerce and the\noverall effect of Covid 19 at a country level with an eye on the global effect\nof Covid 19., <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Towards\nthis end its critical for legal practitioners to take note of the following in\nmitigation of the emerging legal effects caused by Covid 19.The key\nIdentifiable issues during this pandemic are;-<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Succession and Crisis management: review existing policies and ensure key employees and management are familiar with them. Who has authority to make immediate decisions with respect to the crisis? Develop a consistent and effective communication plan.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>\u00a0Employment issues: employers generally owe a duty to ensure that reasonable care is taken to safeguard the health and safety of employees at work. Review and assess what changes may be necessary or appropriate for your HR policies, such as absenteeism, leave, flexible work and overseas travel.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Business\ncontinuity: are you prepared for the possible implications on the business of\ntravel restrictions and quarantines? How will you keep the business operating\non skeleton staff, or will you have to shut up shop? For example, businesses in\nthe retail and hospitality industries may be particularly affected by a lack of\ncustomers and staff in the event of widespread quarantine arrangements.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Dispute\nresolution: any event that leads to public disruption can be a fertile breeding\nground for disputes to arise. Consider carefully commercial contract terms,\nincluding force majeure and notice requirements, and be alert to inadvertently\nagreeing to a contractual variation\/waiver.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Communication\nis key: clear communications will be needed with key stakeholders as to the\nimpact of the spread of coronavirus on the business. Investors, customers,\nsuppliers, and staff will all need to be informed about how the business is\ndealing with the issue and what it means for them.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Listed\ncompanies need to bear in mind disclosure obligations: a material disruption to\nthe company\u2019s business; material impairment of business performance or outlook;\na material change in the company\u2019s business plan; or a pending transaction\nlikely to be cancelled or delayed as a result of the outbreak might all\nnecessitate an announcement.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Financial\nreporting: companies need to consider whether to refer to the possible impact\nof COVID-19 on their business in their reporting of principal risks and\nuncertainties, and, potentially, in the carrying value of assets and\nliabilities and should ensure that they provide up-to-date and meaningful\ndisclosure.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Capital markets and loan\nfinancing: issuers or underwriters working on international offerings may need\nto consider the impact on: diligence and disclosure, consents, approvals,\ntermination and settlement dates.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Government\nAction on Covid 19 and attendant consequences of government intervention both\non Legislation touching on taxation, safety protocols, trade and commerce,<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Special acknowledgement to linklaters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dennis Kirwa Advocate<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>March 2020 Covid-19: Legal Synopsis The recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus has caused disruption across the world and Kenya &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kklaw.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kklaw.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kklaw.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kklaw.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kklaw.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=972"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kklaw.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":973,"href":"https:\/\/www.kklaw.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972\/revisions\/973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kklaw.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kklaw.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kklaw.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}