Farrer & Co
9 Experts
3 Contributions by Farrer & Co
PRACTICE NOTES
The Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996) supplies a route for parties who wish to start arbitration but are unable to do so within a contractually fixed period, whatever the reason, to seek from the courts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (with ‘English’ and ‘England’ used throughout) an extension of time. The threshold set by section 12 AA 1996 is stringent, and the English courts are slow to grant extra time. The Act gives primacy to party autonomy and relinquishes any notion that the courts possess a general supervisory jurisdiction over arbitrations, as confirmed in Haven Insurance v EUI (t/a Elephant Insurance).
Extension of contractual time limit—AA 1996, s 12
Section 12(1) AA 1996 permits the court to extend a contractual deadline where an arbitration agreement dealing with ‘future disputes’ stipulates a time limit for taking ‘some step…to begin’
Arbitration
PRACTICE NOTES
The doctrine of separability
This Practice Note examines the 'doctrine of separability' of arbitration agreements in international arbitration.
The 'doctrine of separability' regards an agreement to arbitrate contained within a contract as an autonomous agreement, distinct from the main contract. The doctrine preserves the validity and enforceability of arbitration as the parties' chosen mechanism for resolving disputes, even if the principal contract is invalid and unenforceable. Consequently, the arbitration agreement may remain valid and enforceable, notwithstanding that the broader agreement in which it is set is itself held to be invalid and unenforceable. In effect, the parties are treated as having made two separate agreements, and the agreement to arbitrate is separable...
Arbitration
PRACTICE NOTES
What is the Model Law?
As its title implies, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (the Model Law) serves as a template for domestic arbitration legislation produced by UNCITRAL. First issued in 1985, its purpose was for states to adopt and implement it, thereby aligning national approaches to commercial arbitration and improving domestic arbitration laws. In that sense, it has achieved notable success. Iterations of the Model Law have been implemented, in full or with variations, in more than 100 jurisdictions worldwide. A list of states whose legislation is based on the Model Law is available on the UNCITRAL website. UNCITRAL also makes clear on that page that a model law is simply a suggested pattern for law-makers to consider when shaping their own legislation; since states are free to depart from the text when
Arbitration
2 Contributions by Farrer & Co Experts
PRACTICE NOTES
This Practice Note outlines UK law as it relates to the use of deepfakes. A deepfake is audiovisual material created or altered with artificial intelligence to misrepresent a person or subject. The Practice Note explores:
what a deepfake is;
how deepfakes work; and
uses and applications of deepfakes—including entertainment, parody, political satire and healthcare.
It also considers the application of UK law to deepfakes, the steps taken by social media platforms and search engines to tackle issues arising from deepfakes, and future technological controls, including problem areas linked to technological and legislative or common law controls.
What is a deepfake?
The term blends ‘deep learning’ with ‘fake’. Ofcom’s Deepfake Defences Discussion Paper characterises a deepfake as audiovisual content generated or manipulated by AI that misrepresents someone or something. Such content often features individuals from the entertainment, fashion, or sports sectors.
TMT
PRACTICE NOTES
Trustees and trust assets
In numerous ways, obtaining security from trustees over trust property resembles taking security from chargors who hold the applicable asset outright. Factors that arise when securing obligations from an individual equally arise when securing obligations from individual trustees, and the same principle applies to their corporate counterparts. This Practice Note does not aim to address matters of general application when taking security; instead, it concentrates on particular points to keep in view when security is taken over trust assets. It highlights nuances specific to trust-held assets for lenders and advisers. This Practice Note addresses the following topics:
the nature of trusts
the powers of trustees to borrow and grant security
specific issues to assess where security is taken over land
regulatory aspects, and
documentary considerations
Please note, this Practice Note deals with issues concerning the taking of security from trustees generally and not charity
Banking & Finance
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