Intermediary meaning

The Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt 3A, together with FPR 2010, PD 3AA, collectively set out arrangements for the participation of vulnerable persons in family proceedings and the manner in which their evidence is received. Under these rules, the court may issue 'participation directions' regulating the involvement of any vulnerable person, protected party or child, and it also has power to appoint an intermediary. See Practice Note: Vulnerable persons—participation and evidence in family proceedings...

The Checklist The Checklist reviews which service providers fall within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, the EU Digital Services Act (EU DSA), sets out what they must do to meet the Act’s principal duties, and highlights several core concepts. It also summarises key dates and milestones referenced throughout the implementation period across the EU. The EU DSA took effect on 16 November 2022. The cut-off for publishing figures on active monthly users was 17 February 2023. On 25 April 2023, the Commission designated 17 Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and two Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs). Those designated businesses must, within four months of designation, satisfy obligations under the EU DSA (see: LNB News 25/04/2023 74). On 19 December 2023, the Commission named three further VLOPs (see: LNB News 20/12/2023 32). All remaining intermediary service providers had until 17 February 2024 to fulfil their duties, coinciding with the commencement of most EU DSA provisions. The catalogue of VLOPs and VLOSEs is available here. For added detail on...

Mandatory Disclosure Rules (MDR) for Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Avoidance Arrangements and Offshore Structures In March 2018, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued the model Mandatory Disclosure Rules (MDR) for Common Reporting Standard (CRS) avoidance arrangements and offshore structures, intended to encourage country by country consistency in applying disclosure and transparency so as to combat aggressive tax planning on a global scale...

Verein für Konsumenteninformation v Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij NV., Case C-45/24, ECLI:EU:C:2026:2 What are the practical implications of this case? Up to now, airlines have typically maintained that when a ticket is refunded owing to a cancellation or a delay exceeding five hours, any commission levied by an intermediary, such as a travel agent at the time of booking, falls outside the reimbursable sum. Carriers generally do not know the commission figure and do not receive it as part of the fare revenue. Such commission is usually neither disclosed to the airline nor remitted with the ticket proceeds. This judgment confirms that, where a carrier is obliged to return the ticket price following a cancellation (or a long delay beyond five hours), the repayment must also cover the intermediary’s commission, even if the carrier does not know the amount involved. That position holds irrespective of the carrier’s knowledge of the figure at any point. As a result of this outcome, airlines will need to liaise with agents to determine...

Could AI tools be used to draft witness statements? The rule that statements must be recorded in a witness’s 'own words' makes it improbable that a witness could simply feed prompts into an AI platform and present the resulting text as their personal wording. Generative AI, by its essence, draws on innumerable bodies of writing, fusing and compressing them into prose that belongs to no single author. The product of such systems is, by design, not the voice of any particular user. In addition, PD 57AC requires (i) transparency about how the statement was put together and (ii) that it captures the witness’s own knowledge, raising doubts about how a court would view a statement created with AI support. Once drafting is automated, an intermediary stands between the witness and the text, severing the direct link from first-hand recollection to the eventual draft...

In this issue: Arbitration in England & Wales Arbitration under the AA 1996 Act International Arbitration Investment treaty arbitration Other arbitration and ADR-related news and developments Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Arbitration in England & Wales Quinn Emanuel must ID source of forged Deripaska report On 14 October 2024, a judge ordered Quinn Emanuel to disclose the identity of the intermediary who supplied a fabricated report implying that Russian industrialist Oleg Deripaska deceived arbitrators in a dispute with a former business partner. See: Quinn Emanuel must ID source of forged Deripaska report. Arbitration under the AA 1996 Act Binding nature of dispositive part of award and revival of tribunal’s jurisdiction In AZ v BY, the English Commercial Court affirmed that, in an arbitration governed by the Arbitration Act 1996, the dispositive section of an award is binding. The tribunal’s dispositive wording amounts to a complete statement of the granted...

This Practice Note sets out when the court may issue directions about the proper treatment and questioning of a witness or defendant at a ground rules hearing, explains the procedural framework for such hearings, and outlines the directions that might be made in a particular case. Those directions form part of a wider suite of special measures intended to support the effective participation of a vulnerable witness or defendant in criminal proceedings, where necessary and proportionate. For detail on other special measures available in criminal cases, see Practice Notes: Special measures and Special measures for the accused. The procedural scheme for a ground rules hearing appears in Part 3 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (CrimPR 2025), SI 2025/909, with further guidance in Part 6 of the Criminal Practice Directions 2023 (CPD 2023). Additional guidance is available in the Crown Court Compendium Part I and the Equal Treatment Bench Book. Duty to facilitate participation When preparing for trial, the court must take all reasonable steps to enable the...

This Practice Note looks at the tasks of pinpointing and interviewing potential witnesses, working with them on their witness statements, and supporting them to give evidence in court. For direction on preparing trial witness statements in the Business and Property Courts, see Practice Note: Trial witness statements in the Business and Property Courts under CPR PD 57AC. It should also be read alongside Practice Note: Courts’ power to manage factual evidence, which explains the courts’ authority to control factual evidence under CPR 32.1 and CPR 32.2(3). Choosing witnesses Witness testimony at trial can be decisive for the success or failure of a claim or the defence of it. This Practice Note outlines how to collaborate effectively with a witness when preparing such evidence. Importance of planning witness evidence In claims that turn mainly on facts, outcome may hinge on whether a particular witness is regarded as credible by the court. Securing witness evidence should be considered at a very early point in the proceedings...

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note is not being maintained. Today, most global businesses work with third parties, tapping into vital capabilities that help them operate across markets. Yet those relationships can also carry significant corruption exposure, potentially resulting in breaches of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). With the right diligence, tailored contractual terms, targeted training, and robust oversight, organisations can manage FCPA risk while still benefiting from third-party contributions to their operations. The FCPA bars corrupt payments made through intermediaries when a company is ‘knowing’ that some or all of the money will be passed to a foreign government official. It is not necessary to have actual knowledge of a third party’s conduct; wilful blindness can be enough to attribute knowledge. In practice, businesses cannot look the other way or disregard indications of possible bribery by those they engage. Agents, distributors, consultants, contractors, and subcontractors Service-providers, suppliers, and other non-intermediary third parties Effective third-party engagement should include anti-corruption due diligence,...

1 DPO details Name of organisation [ Insert name of organisation ] Name of DPO [ Insert name ] Reports to [ Insert name and/or position ] Full time/part time [ Insert ] Details of any other roles held within the organisation [ Insert details of any other roles held ] Date appointed [ Insert date ] 2 Role summary To serve as the data protection officer (DPO) for [ insert name of organisation ] under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and to: 2.1 enable [ insert name of organisation ]’s compliance with the UK GDPR and other applicable data protection legislation by ensuring effective systems and controls are in place to enable [ insert name of organisation ], including its managers and employees, to comply with their legal obligations 2.2 act as intermediary between relevant stakeholders, including the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), data subjects and business units within [ insert...

Because we may bear responsibility for bribery, the facilitation of tax evasion, and fraud carried out by an agent or intermediary representing us, we need assurance, prior to appointing any agent or intermediary (and for the duration of the relationship), that they will refrain from such conduct or related serious wrongdoing whatsoever. Accordingly, our measures to prevent crime oblige us to perform suitable due diligence concerning any third parties who act for us, to...

To be completed by [ insert name of organisation appointing the agent/intermediary ]... 1 Geographical factors Consider the location of the agent or intermediary. Country where the agent or intermediary is located [ Insert country ] That country’s Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index score [ Insert score ] Is there credible reason to believe that business in this country is often secured through bribery of officials and/or that such payments are commonplace? If yes, give particulars, including how this came to your attention, for example via other multinational organisations operating there, local contacts, periodicals or news reports. ☐ Yes—[ Insert requested details ] ☐ No Have enquiries been made into the relevant civil/criminal law of the country to identify any material differences from UK law (eg legality of facilitation payments)? ☐ Yes ☐ No—[ Insert details ] Is the country known or reasonably suspected to: —operate high levels of secrecy; —be used as a tax haven; —not subscribe to the Common Reporting Standard;...

Rule 5.1.7 of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Client Assets Sourcebook (CASS) (CASS 5.1.7) confirms that the provisions within CASS 5.1 to CASS 5.6 also give effect, as required, to article 4.4 of the (EU) Insurance Mediation Directive (Directive 2002/92/EC), requiring that all necessary measures be taken to protect clients against the inability of an insurance intermediary to transfer premiums to an insurance undertaking, or to transfer the proceeds of a claim or a premium refund to the insured...

IR35 The off-payroll IR35 framework applies where: from 6 April 2017, the engager is a public authority; and from 6 April 2020, a private sector organisation (other than one that is ‘small’) hires a worker via an intermediary, for example a personal service company (PSC). The legislation takes effect in respect of payments made on or after those dates, even where such payments relate to services delivered before those dates. This applies without regard to precisely when the work was performed. In essence, and in practical terms, the off-payroll IR35 rules move the task of deciding whether IR35 applies from the PSC to the end client in relevant cases and, where IR35 does apply, they place the duty to deduct income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) on the party nearest to the PSC in the contractual chain (whether that is the end client contracting directly with the PSC, or another intermediary within more complicated contractual structures). IR35 is engaged...

It is quite usual, in many cases, for an intermediary landlord to sit between the occupational long-leasehold tenants of a block of flats and the freeholder. The term of the intermediate lease is longer, although often only a little longer, than the duration of the occupational long leases (flat leases) for the individual flats. The typical set-up is a freeholder at the top, then a head tenant, frequently a management company, for the whole block, and beneath that the individual flat leases...