In a decision issued earlier today, the U.S. federal district court for the District of Columbia vacated the SEC’s rule requiring reporting companies that engage in resource extraction to file annual disclosures on payments they make to governments and remanded the matter to the Commission. This will likely delay the implementation of the rule, which would otherwise have required disclosures beginning next year.
Below are some highlights.
Separately, Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act also requires the SEC to adopt rules requiring disclosure about use of “conflict minerals” in the manufacture of products, and the SEC adopted rules regarding conflict mineral disclosure in August 2012. Industry groups have also challenged the conflict minerals rule. Oral argument in that case, National Association of Manufacturers et al. v. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is before a different judge in the U.S. federal district court for the District of Columbia, was heard yesterday.
Please feel free to call any of your regular contacts at the firm or any of our partners and counsel listed under “Capital Markets” or “Corporate Governance” in the Practices section of this website if you have any questions.